Psychological research over the last decade defines self-compassion as a fundamental resilience resource, composed of three interconnected elements: self-kindness versus self-judgment, common humanity versus isolation, and mindfulness versus over-identification.

Unlike self-esteem, which often relies on social comparison and achievements, studies demonstrate that self-compassion fosters long-term emotional stability and is significantly correlated with a decrease in anxiety and depression. Clinical findings indicate that developing a compassionate stance toward one's own pain enables more effective emotional regulation. This process deactivates the threat-defense system (Fight-or-Flight) and activates the soothing system.

Today, integrating self-compassion into therapy is considered one of the most effective tools for neutralizing shame and destructive self-criticism, which often act as primary barriers to the processes of change and growth.

Galili-Weinstock, L., Chen, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Peri, T., & Rafaeli, E. (2018). The association between self-compassion and treatment outcomes: Session-level and treatment-level effects. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(6), 849–866. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22569

Galili-Weinstock, L., Chen, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2020). Enhancement of self-compassion in psychotherapy: The role of therapists' interventions. Psychotherapy Research, 30(6), 815–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2019.1650979

Galili-Weinstock, L., Lazarus, G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2020). Self-compassion among psychotherapy clients is in the details of negative, not positive, emotions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(4), 478–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.162739