Understanding the Three Circles Model
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is an innovative and evidence-based form of psychotherapy developed by Professor Paul Gilbert. Central to CFT is the Three Circles Model, a powerful tool designed to help individuals understand and regulate their emotional experiences. This model is particularly effective when thinking about how we manage tricky periods in our life. The three circles can be applied to any one at anytime but with my clients I often use it to help people think about how they are responding in work, and how their personal life is often impacted.
The Three Circles Model: An Overview
The Three Circles Model delineates three primary emotional systems that influence our behaviour, thoughts, and feelings:
The Threat and Self-Protection System
This system is activated in response to threats and danger. It's characterised by emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust. The physiological response often involves the 'fight or flight' reaction, preparing the body to respond to perceived threats. This system is crucial for survival, but when over-activated, it can lead to anxiety, anger, and paranoia. This could look like working late hours, driven by a deep-seated fear of not meeting expectations or losing their job. This fear, stemming from the Threat system, can lead to chronic stress and burnout. Another example might be noticing a reluctance to Speak Up in Meetings or handovers. Someone may feel so anxious about sharing ideas in meetings, worried they might say something wrong or be judged that they stay quiet. This anxiety is a manifestation of the Threat system, where the perceived danger is social judgement or rejection
Drive and Excitement System
This system is related to the pursuit of resources, achievements, and pleasures. It is driven by emotions like excitement, joy, and a sense of achievement. When this system is activated, it motivates us to seek out things we desire, such as success, social connections, or personal goals. Being in our drive system often feels good! However, an overemphasis on this system can lead to addictive behaviours, compulsive working, and ignoring personal boundaries. For example: forgoing lunch breaks or work through them to fit more tasks into their day (despite not being paid for this extra work). This behaviour is often fuelled by the Drive system, where the pursuit of achievement and recognition overrides the need for rest. Some people might find themselves checking emails outside of work hours, or at weekends. When we break it down people often acknowledge that even if there was something urgent there was nothing that could be done about this- but checking makes them feel productive nonetheless, or like they have some level of control about what their day may look like to help them get psychologically prepared ( drive system in play).
Soothing and Affiliation System
This system is associated with feelings of contentment, safety, and connectedness. It helps to calm down the threat system and balance out the drive system. It promotes feelings of peace, compassion, and warmth towards oneself and others. It's essential for emotional healing and building secure relationships. For people who experience high levels of self-criticism and shame their soothing system is activated far less, and their negative internal voice activates their threat in response. As the soothing system is about connectedness, even within a busy schedule it can be activated by someone offering help, listening to a colleagues concerns, or simply appreciating someone for what they did.
Balancing the Systems
The goal behind going through this with people is not just to share a psychological theory, but to help you to applying it to yourself. Where are you out of balance? What is it that happens to kick your threat system to overdrive, or why have you found it so difficult to create a soothing system? By recognising these imbalances, individuals can work on strategies to strengthen their Soothing system, such as practicing mindfulness, self-compassion, and grounding techniques.
