Dr. Chris Germer presents "Integrating Self-Compassion into Therapy": ONLINE LIVE STREAM EVENT

Workshop Description

​For many clinicians, the value of self-compassion is clear - yet helping clients access genuine compassion for themselves can be surprisingly difficult. Self-criticism, shame, and trauma often interrupt a client’s ability to relate to themselves with warmth, making therapeutic progress slower and more painful than it needs to be. This workshop addresses that gap by offering a practical and research-informed roadmap for bringing self-compassion more explicitly and effectively into clinical work.

Drawing on the rapidly expanding evidence base - now over 7,000 published studies - Dr. Chris Germer will introduce Self-Compassion–Based Therapy as described in the new book Grounding Psychotherapy in Self-Compassion. Participants will explore the three core levels of integrating self-compassion into psychotherapy: cultivating a compassionate presence, strengthening a compassionate therapeutic relationship, and offering compassionate interventions. Throughout, Dr. Germer will highlight how self-compassion functions as a transdiagnostic and transtheoretical mechanism of change, with particular attention to applications in trauma and shame.

This workshop is designed to be both informative and experiential. Participants will engage in guided practices, observe demonstrations, and have opportunities for reflection and discussion. The goal is to help clinicians not only understand the model but begin to feel how self-compassion can shift their work - supporting both client transformation and clinician well-being.

You will learn how to:

• Describe the three components of self-compassion and why they matter in clinical work.
• Explain the three levels of integrating self-compassion into psychotherapy.
• Strengthen and maintain a grounded, compassionate therapeutic presence.
• Design effective home practices to help clients cultivate self-compassion between sessions and enhance therapeutic outcomes.

Who Should Attend:

Any helping professional who provides some form of counselling including (but not limited to), therapists, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health and/or health-care professionals.​​​​

​You will receive:

• Login details and instructions emailed in advance of the workshop
• Downloadable handouts
• Certificate of attendance upon successful completion of a brief online quiz (if desired)
• Access to a recording of the workshop for a limited period of time after the workshop - so if you can’t join live, or need to miss part of the live workshop and want to view it afterwards, we’ve got you covered!

About the Presenter

Chris Germer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and part-time lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in mindfulness and compassion-based interventions and maintains a small psychotherapy practice in Massachusetts. Dr. Germer is best known as the co-developer, with Kristin Neff, of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, established in 2010, which has since been taught to more than 250,000 people worldwide.

A longtime contributor to the integration of mindfulness and clinical practice, Dr. Germer is the author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and co-author of three MSC-related books: The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program. He also co-edited two influential professional volumes, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy. In addition to his writing, he lectures and facilitates workshops internationally, supporting clinicians, educators, and practitioners in cultivating self-compassion as a foundation for emotional resilience and well-being.

Grounded in a belief that compassionate awareness can transform both personal suffering and therapeutic practice, Dr. Germer’s work emphasizes accessibility, authenticity, and the value of meeting human experience with kindness.

For more information or to register: www.missionempowerment.ca