A Case Report of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) for aJapanese Patient with Recurrent Depressive Disorder: TheImportance of Layered Processes in CFT

Major depressive disorder is a common mental health problem around the world. To treat depression, cognitive behaviouraltherapyis highly recommended by some guidelines. However, there are reports pointing out the existence of patients who do not respondto cognitive behavioural therapy because of dissociation between thoughts and experiences. To treat such patients, compassionfocused therapy was developed, but there are no reports of compassion focused therapy for Japanese patients. This report presentsa case of compassion focused therapy for a Japanese female with major depressive disorder and suicidal feelings. After receivingcompassion focused therapy, the patient recovered and began to have social interaction with others again. This case suggestedthe importance of psychoeducation, exercises involving compassionate images and breathing, and a compassionate relationship inconducting compassion focused therapy