A Narrative Review of Compassion Focused Therapy on Positive Mental Health Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) has been attracting attention in mental health practice and research. CFT is effective in reducing a variety of negative mental health symptoms. Positive mental health (PMH) focuses on an individual’s functioning, quality of life, and well-being, aiming to achieve fulfilment. A need for PMH has been increasingly recognised such as national policies incorporating recovery-oriented approaches. However, how effective CFT is for PMH outcomes remains to be investigated. This narrative review aimed to identify the literature that reports evidence on CFT used against PMH outcomes. Methods: Our research questions (RQs) were as follows: RQ1. What PMH outcomes are targeted in CFT intervention research? RQ2. Is CFT effective for PMH?” Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO were searched on the Ovid platform. All studies that mentioned “compassion focused therapy” and “compassion-focused therapy” were searched. Results: Sixteen RCTs were included published since 2012. Nine studies were from Europe, four from Asia, two from Northern America, and one from Australia and New Zealand. CFT was used for diverse PMH outcomes, and the effects were overall positive. Self-compassion and compassion were the most frequently evaluated outcomes. Conclusions: The mechanism of action for CFT on PMH needs to be evaluated. CFT can be used as part of personal recovery in mental health. More evidence from non-WEIRD countries including LMICs is needed.

Keywords

• compassion-focused therapy
• positive mental health
• literature review