Dennis D. Tirch, PhD, is associate director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, founder and director of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and serves as adjunct assistant clinical professor at Weill-Cornell Medical College. He is coauthor of books and articles on mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion, and maintains an active research program in these areas with Robert L. Leahy. Tirch is a fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and founding co-president of the New York City chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.

Foreword writer Paul Gilbert, PhD, is a professor at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom, director of the mental health research unit at Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, founder of compassion-focused therapy, and author of The Compassionate Mind.