Fierce compassion, radically embodied compassion, and drawing on martial arts to practice stability, groundedness, flexibility and distress tolerance for therapists.

Dr Syd Hiskey has an academic background in trauma psychology and more recently compassion based therapeutic approaches. He has worked in the NHS as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, with adult and older adult clients in secondary and tertiary mental health settings in North Essex (UK). He is currently in full-time private practice. He has practised a wide range of martial arts for the last two decades, originally focusing on Wing Chun Kung Fu (in which he has a black sash) and Mixed Self Defence/Martial Arts (Hybrid Defence).

Time Stamps:

2.36 Tell us a bit about yourself, your work, your life.

12.25 Your journey into compassion and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

20.33 How do you use Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in your work?

27.26 What are some of the biggest challenges working with Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)?

33.52 Fierce compassion and radically embodied compassion through martial arts.

47.46 What are three tips you would offer others who are making their way on their own compassionate journey?

51.15 How can people find you and engage with you and your work?

Websites:

https://www.sydhiskey.com/

https://www.fiercecompassionmartialarts.com/

Journal Articles:

Clapton, N. & Hiskey, S. (2020) Radically Embodied Compassion: The Potential Role of Traditional Martial Arts in Compassion Cultivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555156, 1-5.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555156/full

Hiskey, S. & Clapton, N. (2019) Rolling with the punches: The martial arts as a vehicle for personal and therapist self-development. Private Practice, September, 6-9.

Hiskey, S. & Clapton, N. (2019) The martial arts and embodied distress tolerance in psychological therapy. International Journal of Martial Arts, Volume 5, Article 4.