Compassionate Inquiry

Compassionate Inquiry (CI) is a psychotherapeutic modality that aims to reveal what underlies the appearance that we present to the world, thereby helping us to reconnect with our true selves. It is an approach developed by Dr Gabor Maté who, in his clinical practice as a GP and addictions counsellor, realised the essence of trauma – separation from the authentic self. In his view, all disease symptoms are manifestations of some kind of trauma. It follows therefore that the purpose of therapy is to help us to come back to our authentic selves.

Unlike the traditional Freudian model of psychotherapy, CI is a very interactive process. The practitioner listens and holds space for the client, and brings intense presence to the session allowing themselves to intuitively respond to the narrative being told, and from here to conduct inquiry. Dr Maté teaches that only when compassion is present will people allow themselves to see the truth, but that compassion must be what he describes as “fierce compassion”, to guide the client to painful places. Observing the past is only important in that it illuminates what is happening in the present. Shining a light on what is happening in the present allows us to return to our true selves, and to present our true selves to the world, which in turn allows us to occupy our rightful place in the world.

Your CI practitioner at Project DAO is Yanan. We’re happy to arrange a telehealth consult with her on request; to do so, please contact us to inquire as these appointments are no longer available to book online.