What Is Compassionate Inquiry?

I admit that when I signed up for the year-long facilitator training program I only had a vague idea of what it actually was about and what the program entailed. I was moving on a gut feeling and felt understanding that it was the next step for me. As I am over half way through the intensive year-long training program and starting to offer sessions as a facilitator, I thought to share my understanding of what I have been learning. It’s important to me that you understand that to become a facilitator I am required to take a deep dive into my own healing by working with a CI therapist and serving as a client on the weekly with my cohort of fellow learners. I have been surprised and quite touched by how powerful each session is – how many layers continue to be revealed for healing and how direct and intuitive the actual process is. And it is indeed a process, with a map and stepping stones to follow - and the destination is true authenticity - that which we all long for.

 “The purpose of Compassionate Inquiry is to drill down to the core stories people tell themselves – to get them to see what story they are telling themselves unconsciously; what those beliefs are, where they came from; and guide them to the possibility of letting go of those stories, or letting go of the hold those stories have on them … That’s what Compassionate Inquiry is.”

~ Dr. Gabor Maté

Compassionate Inquiry is a form of inquiry work developed by Dr. Gabor Maté to help people come out of their past adaptive behaviors and patterns, which no longer serve them —to heal and ultimately come into acceptance and presence. It’s a powerful bridge for anyone wanting to be more aware and less reactive and it is a profound tool for those suffering from the effects of trauma and addiction.   Gabor teaches that all suffering is caused from our separation from our true selves and Compassionate Inquiry is a “map” back to our very essence. Gabor developed his method while working for many years in a his medical practice. He realized that Western medicine did not address the underlying root cause of illness and addiction, seeds he found to be planted in early childhood experiences. He found that people did not have access to counseling and so he started offering sessions after his regular working hours and this eventually led to the development of his approach to healing.

In his counseling sessions and in his determined effort to heal his own early trauma, Gabor learned that healing happens in the present and what is needed for this to happen is a safe container that allows the client to experience the feelings (and the core beliefs that developed as a result) that they were not able to feel in early childhood to survive.   Compassionate inquiry is not traditional talk therapy.  It involves engaging the whole person, their perceptions, thoughts, and feelings through the felt sense of the body.  This approach involves bringing people out of their minds/stories and into the present felt sense in the body which then informs layers upon layers of past experience wanting to be seen, heard and healed.

The safe container is created by the CI guide’s attunement and acceptance of the client’s experience and allows the client the freedom to lead the session first with their own intention and then through nonjudgement and receptivity. The year-long training program requires the facilitators to learn this both as clients and therapists through many hours of practice, study, and awareness tools, such as breathwork, yoga and meditation. Both Gabor and Sat Dharam, who helped create the actual training program, emphasize the importance of the therapist’s doing their own work first. The training teaches that you can only hold space for another’s feelings and experiences if you first are able to understand, experience and heal your own.  The safe container is also protected by the therapist’s continually asking for consent to continue – allowing the client the freedom to say no, which gives agency and empowerment.

Compassionate Inquiry does not involve having people stay in their stories/minds, rather we bring awareness instead to the “held” sense in the body of these events/experiences by bringing understanding and compassion to the client’s perceptions, core beliefs, or addictive patterns (such as “i’m not lovable, I don’t belong, I ‘m a failure”).  With one foot in the present we are able to go back and feel the feelings and heal ourselves. Taking responsibility and moving out of the victim stance is the ultimate result. And because we are working with the felt sense this healing modality is an accelerant – the sessions are direct, self-illuminating, and empowering. Through Compassionate Inquiry, the client recognizes and releases the unconscious layers of experience that negatively drive their beliefs, behaviors, relationships, and self-esteem and brings them into a more present, self-accepting state of being.

I am honored to be offering sessions using these tools developed by Gabor Maté. Sat Dharam and her team have done a remarkable job of creating a program that is skillfully put together. Compassionate Inquiry is an accelerant and the teachings in the program are as well. I’ve learned so much about myself and how to hold space for others. If you would like an introductory session reach out. I ‘m happy to hold space for your healing as I continue my own with this modality.

 (c) Deva Arani LLC