Editing Compassion (section)

== Compassion in practice ==
=== Medicine ===
Compassion is one of the most important attributes for physicians practicing medical services.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Principles of Medical Ethics |publisher=American Medical Association |year=1981 |location=Chicago}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Compassion brings about the desire to do something to help the sufferer.<ref name="Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology" />{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} That desire to be helpful is not compassion, but it does suggest that compassion is similar to other emotions in that it motivates behaviors to reduce the tension brought on by the emotion.<ref name="Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology" />{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Physicians generally identify their central duties as the responsibility to put the patient's interests first, including the duty not to harm, to deliver proper care, and to maintain confidentiality.<ref name="Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology" />{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Compassion is seen in each of those duties because of its direct relation to the recognition and treatment of suffering.<ref name="Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology" />{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Physicians who use compassion understand the effects of sickness and suffering on human behavior.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cassell |first=Eric |title=The Nature of Suffering |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1985 |location=New York}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Compassion may be closely related to love and the emotions evoked in sickness and suffering. This is illustrated{{how|date=July 2023}} by the relationship between patients and physicians in medical institutions.<ref name="Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology" />{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} The relationship between suffering patients and their caregivers provides evidence that compassion is a social emotion that is {{vague|text=related to|date=July 2023}} the closeness and cooperation between individuals.

=== Psychotherapy ===
{{Further|Compassion focused therapy}}
Compassion-focused therapy, created by clinical psychologist Professor [[Paul Gilbert (psychologist)|Paul Gilbert]], focuses on the evolutionary psychology behind compassion: balancing of affect regulation systems (e.g. using affiliative emotions from the care-and-contentment system to soothe and reduce painful emotions from the threat-detection system).{{technical inline|date=July 2023}}<ref>{{Citation |last1=Lopes |first1=Ana Filipa |title=Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) |date=5 December 2020 |url=https://epg.pubpub.org/pub/1eabo1h0/release/1 |journal=EFPT Psychotherapy Guidebook |publisher=PubPub |language=en |doi=10.21428/fc0b32aa.3296abfc |access-date=30 December 2020 |last2=Silva |first2=Filipa Martins |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>Gilbert, Paul,"The Compassionate Mind (Compassion Focused Therapy)"{{full citation needed|date=July 2023}}</ref>