We have posted a number of the audio meditations that we use in our psychotherapy and training approach below . . .

Please feel free to listen to these meditations streaming or download them to your own device. They are all available for free and we hope they are useful to you. These exercises are some of the central practices we use in our CFT, ACT and Fierce Compassion group work.

The meditations were recorded by either Dr. Dennis Tirch or Dr. Laura Silberstein-Tirch. They are derived from Compassion Focused Therapy, developed by Dr. Paul Gilbert, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and from other sources in Mindfulness and Contemplative Psychology. Please remember to use your judgment and wisdom with these practice, and note that these are not meant to be a substitute for working with a mental health professional or a qualified teacher of meditation. Also, it is best not to listen to these exercises while driving or engaging in other complex tasks. Sending good wishes to you and yours on your own personal journey into mindfulness and compassion. - D. T.

The following meditations, imagery and experiential practices were originally published in The ACT Practitioner's Guide to the Science of Compassion: Tools for Fostering Psychological Flexibility published by New Harbinger, Experiencing ACT from the Inside Out: A Self-Practice/Self-Reflection Workbook for Therapists, published by Guilford Press, and published to Soundcloud by the authors.

This is a version of the classic ACT mindfulness exercise, "Leaves on a Stream" Developed originally by Dr. Stephen C. Hayes. This is a field recording of Dr. Tirch from a Training Workshop.

 This is a CFT-consistent loving kindness meditation for use in compassionate mind training. This is a field recording from a training with Dr. Dennis Tirch. 

This is a brief variation on the Compassionate Self Imagery practice recorded during a training by Dr. Dennis Tirch. It is intended as a part of "generalization practice" where we are able to access our compassionate mind with greater ease and brevity through ongoing practice. Any mild background noise is just a part of the nature of this "field recording." With metta, DT

Dr. Dennis Tirch guides a client through the "Compassion Flowing Out" exercise in this field recording of a CFT imagery exercise. This more advanced method of imagery practice helps the practitioner to cultivate and access their compassionate mind, by visualizing compassion flowing from them into another. This practice is among the primary imagery exercises in CFT, found in The Compassionate Mind Guide To Overcoming Anxiety and the entire CFT series of books available from New Harbinger. It is advisable to work with a therapist or teacher when engaging these exercises. More information is available at mindfulcompassion.com.

Dr. Dennis Tirch guides the listener in a variation on the traditional Buddhist loving kindness exercise, with an emphasis on the processes that ACT therapists aim to move, such as contact with the present moment, flexible perspective taking, and commitment to return to valued patterns of action. It is advisable to work with a therapist or teacher when engaging these exercises. This exercise involves visualizing yourself engaging with a younger, childhood version of yourself, and can be emotionally evocative. Please use your own discretion and self-care in using these practices.

This recording involves ambient sounds and music intended to facilitate mindfulness of emotion. The track involves a series of guitar loops and designed electronic sounds from a session beside Glen Brook in the Ramapo Mountains, recorded by D. Tirch.

This track is a recording of a bowl gong gifted to us from Nepal by our friend Dr. Louise Hayes. The gong is joined by loops of slow samples of organic instruments, subtractive synthesis and nylon string guitar. Recorded in 2015 by Dr. Dennis Tirch and Mark Christensen as complimentary music for deep relaxation, mindfulness of sound practice and yoga nidra exercises.