Compassionate Inquiry taught by Dr Gabor Maté has transformed the way I work with clients. What used to take several sessions to get to the core issues now takes 20 compassionate minutes of attunement, awareness and kindness. The skills learned in this practice coupled with my back ground of Mindfulness allow me to see through the story of inherited illnesses like depression, chronic fatigue and ADHD, and get to the real cause of these ailments, which are often adaptations to trauma experienced in childhood. I’m indebted to Dr Maté for his insight, understanding and clarity into emotional trauma and addiction and I am privileged to help continue this important work. Dr Maté’s lived experience of early childhood trauma shines through every thing he teaches, writes and speaks. Compassionate Inquiry is I believe the new therapeutic modality of the 21st century.

V.M., Buddhist Teacher

I spent my entire life searching for that feeling, that feeling of comfort and acceptance. I finally found it with compassionate inquiry. I’m learning to never look back and keep moving forward. I owe it to myself, my children and my family to keep on my healing journey. I know that’s my purpose in life.

Ralph - Professional Training Participant

As a mature therapist I make use of many approaches and interventions and Compassionate Inquiry has seamlessly nestled into aspects of REBT, DBT, CBT and Gestalt as well as assertiveness and self-compassion. Compassionate Inquiry has provided a reflective and non-threatening process for my clients to address previous trauma by identifying earliest occurrence of threat through physical sensation attunement, observing the event with self-compassion and self-kindness, gain awareness of the effects of this protective response from their younger self from then to the present and begin to challenge the threat reactions by being the adult safe-connection to their younger self that was absent when the traumatic event occurred. A spin-off has been the compassion experienced by many clients for their parents which has opened restorative conversations. Also, the C. I. process is teachable to clients and many have been effectively working through other traumatic situations to discover self-acceptance and forgiveness as they see through a C. I. eye.

M.W., Mental Health and Addiction Therapist

The Compassionate Inquiry approach has profoundly shifted both the way I work with clients and my own inner work as well. I have found in Compassionate Inquiry a holistically based trauma informed therapy that weaves together a rich tapestry of neuroscience, mindfulness, somatic and attachment-based psychotherapy. This method guides clients toward uncovering core beliefs, while connecting deeply and safely into the body, in order to accurately identify emotions and somatic states. Through this process, clients may gain a deeper awareness into the workings of early attachment relationships while feeling safely held and anchored within an attuned therapeutic relationship. The result is a cutting edge modality that safely and gently heals the impacts of early trauma with the intention to restore self-cohesion, promote embodiment and presence, and repair early attachment disruptions. Gabor Maté is bold and compassionate; he brings his extensive knowledge and unique edge to the training. His teaching style is exceptional through effective modeling and explanation of the values and concepts of Compassionate Inquiry. This training is experiential and participatory, offering invaluable demonstration and real time experience. Thank you Gabor for culminating your wisdom and teachings into this extraordinary approach.

L.L., Psychotherapist

Compassionate Inquiry has helped my clients to unravel emotional blocks around situations that they are stuck in. In my practice I am very hands-on with giving clients tools to bring home and create a healthier lifestyle and or unravel disease manifestation. Sometimes these ayurvedic and yogic tools don’t work for emotional and psychological reasons of the clients. Compassionate Inquiry is another toolset that I can utilize with my clients to be more effective in facilitating change. It is wonderful to watch the lightbulbs go off for the client when they realize why they had been stuck.

D.K., Ayurvedic Practitioner

The online CI training program is so thorough and comprehensive that accredited doctoral level courses that I have taken pale in comparison. The CI approach is a powerful synthesis of multiple psychotherapeutic approaches I find to be most helpful in working with those who suffer from addiction and trauma. The synergistic combination of videos, written content, online meetings, and triad work together has been deeply transformational personally and professionally. The way I work with clients has been forever enriched and is now guided by the stepping stones so that we are able to get to the core issues that have seeded their addictions, in order to gain insight, heal, and move into sustainable recovery from self-defeating patterns. Dr. Gabor Mate and Sat Dharam Kaur are a powerhouse team whose authenticity, genuineness, and commitment to creating and delivering an exceptional program shines through in this masterfully delivered collaboration.

W.H., Clinical Psychologist, Professor in Addiction Studies

I have found Compassionate Inquiry to be congruent with the classical yoga inquiry into who we are at our core, and learning to distinguish between present moment experience and interpretations based on past experience. CI is a yogic method for the modern age, skillfully integrating eastern and western understanding of the whole person — body, mind and soul — to offer us a practical approach to remembering the inherent wholeness and goodness that is our birthright. The CI approach informs not only my work with clients, but also my own growth as a person which helps me to be more present, accepting and curious when working with others.

B.J., Yoga Teacher and Integrative Coach

My early training for Psychotherapy began in my B.S.W. program in the early 70’s, and I have spent almost 2 decades in training since then. In everything I did in my past training, there was NOTHING as comprehensive, all-inclusive and specific to match the Compassionate Inquiry Program. Components such as the: 1. CI Competencies; 2. 25 case studies completed; 3. 5 videos of our work;  4. 8 modules which organized the material and identified skills and attitudes the psychotherapist is working toward in the respective module; 5. Module questions that call on participants to think through what is being learned; 6. Videos we could watch to witness Gabor modelling different skills including his attitude of respect and faith in the individual, and 7. Repeating the Modules 3 times, because the material is so rich and there is so much learning to absorb in each module.

The program you have developed is well articulated, and thought through. It is therefore much richer in it’s potential for helping others become very good psychotherapists. Really, it’s brilliant.

D.S., Psychotherapist

Everything was so clearly articulated and concepts crystallized into useable forms, with lots of repetition and emphasis on crucial factors for success. I have never encountered such a thoroughly well thought out course! I appreciate the amount of work that went into organizing something of this magnitude and excellence. And actually, clients are making comments about how “amazing” I have been for them and yet I have been saying/doing less but I am far more focused on the qualities I bring to the table as a therapist, and also extremely conscious of creating and holding a safe space so that clients feel safe to be vulnerable. In a nutshell, my focus has been refined and the clients noticed it right away in terms of what they get out of being in my presence.

S.S., Therapist

I am a totally different therapist as a result of taking this program. This program revealed to me my blind spots as a psychotherapist and provided me with the resources to work through those blind spots. Meeting with my group on a weekly basis allowed me to delve into my own childhood trauma and heal things I had never even talked about before. I can now hold space for the most difficult emotions, allowing clients to truly feel their pain, anger, and other emotions. 100% recommend the program for anyone wanting to take their practice to a deeper level.

M. P., Psychotherapist, Tiny, Ontario

The Compassionate Inquiry training was a deeply rewarding (and often challenging) experience that has given me greater insight into who I really am and helped me find more freedom, ease and joy in my life. The training provided me with the skills to confidently guide others into that process of self-inquiry in a very efficient, effective and most importantly, compassionate way.

B. J., Coach and Yoga Teacher, Montreal, Quebec

CI has been an awakening. A call to greater health and consciousness. And thanks to the Compassionate Inquiry course, Gabor’s body of work and the loving highly skilled team who teach it, I’ve been given the practical tools, the shift in attitude, and the evidence I needed to finally risk diving into the dreaded depths of core preverbal pain: that shameful primitive agony I’d previously hidden as my unique hell. That’s the gift. Learning to hold oneself. And that’s the point. CI teaches us how to practice self care and be responsible for our own healing to allow us to authentically offer the same self care skills, to others. Thanks to CI, it’s no longer about searching for me, it’s about practising. Practising self compassion, self responsibility and self care and knowing how to do it.

M. R., Addiction Counsellor, London, UK

For all the many therapies, courses and trainings I’ve done, all of which I’m grateful for, it’s been CI that’s taught me what self-love requires. Now, I’m in my integrity to pass on this gift, professionally.

M. R., Group Facilitator, London, UK

There are trainings and there is Compassionate Inquiry. Don’t expect the usual presentation of methods and teaching of tools. Expect instead inner transformation, inner journey. This course has brought so much for me during one year: I am more connected with myself than ever. I’ve uncovered layers and layers of grief and pain with complete self-compassion. And from this place, I am now able to take my clients even deeper. A couple of days ago, one person I work with shared with me that in her 7 years of therapy she never went so deep as she did during 2 CI sessions. And this is the usual type of feedback we are getting. Recognizing triggers, uncovering sources of suffering, finding the way towards wholeness – these are just a few of the things I take with me from this program. The content is very rich, very well thought through. And the support you get from the team and from the people involved is of real help. But most of all, we formed connections and friendships. There were days when we reached out to one another and other days when we just sat with what was there. We are now more compassionate towards ourselves and others. Because compassion without self-compassion is incomplete. I am grateful beyond words for this experience and for all the people who made this possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cristina B., Transformational Coach

This is the best education of what trauma really does in one’s life. I see the CI as a wholistic model for reclaiming our internal life. A remarkable life changing experience that helps the individual navigate the effects of childhood trauma via various psycho-educational pathways ( nervous system responses, intergenerational trauma, epigenetics and internal family systems). The education videos are mesmerizing and transformational as we learn by witnessing as well. The triads provide ongoing support for each individual and form part of the healing. Overall the best experience of my life. Thank you.

E.A., Registered Nurse, Therapeutic Counsellor, Vancouver

I can’t say enough about the amazing year I have had studying and training in C.I. Today I feel like ‘me’ for the first time in my life – grounded, calm, present, feeling abundant, experiencing compassion and love within, unafraid to speak my truth in the kindest way. It’s a giddiness that has overtaken me, a quicker wit, a real smile. I’m still the same person – the difference is I can now leave a legacy of love, in the truest sense,.. for my children and grandchildren. Thank you isn’t nearly enough for the gratitude I feel for Gabor Mate’s gentle approach and my pod mates who have helped me heal, as my fears unfolded, all year long.

E.I., Psychotherapist, Vancouver

I learned more about how to be an effective therapist in the year-long Compassionate Inquiry online training than I did in my three-year Masters program in Counselling Psychology. I have done many trainings and this one surpasses all of them; I recommend it in the highest possible terms.

M. R., MFT, Sacramento, CA

The Compassionate Inquiry training has deepened my connection with my clients and my practice. Above and beyond the skills I learned during my education, CI allows me to quickly identify and process client’s’ core trauma, which seeds the symptoms for which they seek treatment.

K.P., AMFT, Los Angeles, CA

Compassionate Inquiry has been an intense year of learning, personal growth, healing and connection. Professionally, treatments have another dimension to offer: the compassionate inquiry can bring clarity to age old patterns and illnesses whilst the body-work can help release the emotional tension and offer the holding needed for the compassionate inquiry process. Personally I could not have experienced a more effective year of change. I have connected with truly amazing people and will wholeheartedly continue with this personal growth and connection.

E. R., Reflexologist, Ireland