What is Compassionate Inquiry and Why is it Important in the Healing Process?
Have you ever struggled with something in your life and felt like no one understood you?
You’ve tried to find the words to express what you’re feeling, but you feel so disconnected from other people and from yourself so it’s…difficult.
You crave a safe space where you’re treated with compassion and respect regardless of what your struggles are.
You know you need a little help figuring things out.
But you’re not even really sure where to find it.
The good news is, that compassionate healing is here for you, and so am I.
What is Compassionate Inquiry?
Compassionate Inquiry is a therapeutic technique developed by Dr. Gabor Mate. It focuses on what lies underneath the surface of what you let other people see. It helps you gain an understanding of what your beliefs are, where they came from, and why you behave the way you do.
Dr. Gabor believes that the essence of trauma — which causes dysfunction, addiction, confusion, and disease — is separation from the self.
He believes that symptoms and behaviors are manifested by this trauma and create this disconnection. Compassionate Inquiry focuses on helping people rediscover a connection to themselves, and to use their innate inner wisdom to get there.
But how do we get there?
How can we help people rediscover this connection to themselves?
Through Compassionate Inquiry.
Through asking the right questions, listening to the body, and figuring out what’s getting in the way of that connection to self. We know that connection exists. It’s something we’re born with. We’ve experienced it in our mother’s womb and at birth. But as we grow, and as life happens to us, we experience heartache, trauma, and hardship. Little by little, imperceptibly at first, we gradually disconnect from ourselves, and that’s where the suffering begins.
Compassionate Inquiry gets to the bottom of what is going on. To discover what your beliefs are, where they came from, and to uncover what stories they are unconsciously telling. It helps people let go of those stories and the hold they have on them so they’re able to move forward and find themselves again.
Now, compassion doesn’t simply mean helping somebody feel good. It means helping someone find and recognize the truth, and the path to get them there. Even if it’s uncomfortable.
Because it's the truth that will set you free.
This type of compassion is a fierce one. It does not shy away from guiding people to painful places. It brings them right to the source and helps them deal with whatever is there and encourages them not to be afraid of it. So you can truly heal.
Compassion is being there to ease and support the healing process and help a person become whole again. It’s patiently, and compassionately inquiring about what’s getting in the way of being or becoming their authentic self.
Have you ever heard the phrase “holding space for someone”? Holding space means being fully present with someone. To create a space where one can feel safe while practicing empathy and compassion. Without judgment, fully accepting of their truths, no matter what they are. It means putting your own opinions aside and allowing someone to just be.
Compassionate Inquiry is the embodiment of holding space.
The Power of Compassionate Inquiry and the Mind-Body Connection
The mind-body connection is the link between the way someone thinks, their attitude, how they behave, and their physical health.
The brain and the body are not two things running independently of each other. They are inextricably connected and intertwined.
Studies have shown that hormones and neurotransmitters that affect feelings and emotions can also have an effect on the physical body. They can affect things like blood pressure, sleep patterns, heart rate, and appetite. All of these things can lead to health issues if unaddressed.
When these issues are being addressed, it’s important that the whole person is being taken into consideration.
Because it’s impossible to deny the power of the unity of mind and body. Physical and mental health can’t be separated from emotional experience. To really help people, you can’t only fix the physical side of things. You have to address their emotional issues.
Compassionate Inquiry asks the client questions that gently uncover the many layers of childhood trauma, to help release suppressed emotions that are lodged in the body and are the root of illness and addiction. It addresses the emotions that affect the body.
The Benefits of Working With a Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner
There are seven pillars of compassionate inquiry. The goal is for the practitioner to bring these 7 aspects to humanity in their practice:
Compassion
Respect
Acceptance
Insight
Healing
Freedom
Connection to humanity
Dr. Gabor says to love somebody you have to understand them. To understand someone so they can understand themselves.
Compassionate Inquiry practitioners are trained to deal with their own pain so they can be comfortable with and understand another's pain. We do the work for ourselves so we can be present for other people. To give them a space to feel safe.
Because how safe an individual feels with a practitioner, is determined by how connected they feel to them.
We learn that we all have a powerful healing force inside us.
The healing force is activated by a feeling of safety. A feeling of love.
This is what a Compassionate Inquiry practitioner can provide to you.
Using this method we can uncover the mental processes, hidden beliefs, and memories that create a full picture that words can’t fully express. To help you rediscover your own inner power.
As a Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, I can help you recognize what is holding you back, the unconscious elements that are running your life and how can liberate yourself from them.
If you are interested in working with me,
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