Paul Gilbert and Choden: Mindful Compassion: How the Science of Compassion Can Help You Understand Your Emotions, Live in the Present, and Connect Deeply with Others. New Harbinger Publications, 2014, 384 pp

The last decade has seen a growing interest in mindfulness and compassion and hundreds of books and articles have been written on the topic. [...]it highlights that in order to actualize the full benefits of compassion, we must actively train in both the compassion and mindfulness practices offered by Western Science and Buddhist psychology. The hybrid nature of the book, and its grounding in relevant theory, is what helps the book really shine, offering a empirically based and accessible method for people to learn how to be more mindful and compassionate in daily life. Additionally, as recent authors have highlighted that negative psychological outcomes are sometimes associated with mindfulness practice (i.e., disassociation, paranoia, anxiety, depression, and psychosis), it would be beneficial for individuals, particularly those recovering from trauma, to have opportunities to process the information and exercises presented in the book with a trained professional or clinical supervisor.