Three Systems Model of Emotion Regulation (CFT)
Gilbert (2009) · Emotion regulation (transdiagnostic process model)
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
Gilbert's three systems model (2009), from compassion-focused therapy, maps emotion onto three evolved systems — threat, drive and soothing — and locates distress in the balance between them rather than in any one being faulty.
Three Systems Model of Emotion Regulation (CFT)
Gilbert (2009)
Threat System
Protection and safety-seeking
The threat and self-protection system — our alarm for detecting and responding to danger. Emotions: anxiety, anger, disgust. Responses: fight, flight, freeze or submit. Fast, powerful and easily triggered; self-criticism keeps it activated.
Drive System
Wanting, pursuing, achieving
The drive and resource-seeking system — motivation to pursue goals, resources and rewards. Emotions: excitement, vitality, the buzz of achieving and acquiring. Helpful in balance; in overdrive it becomes relentless striving and can be used to manage threat.
Soothing System
Contentment, safety, connection
The soothing, contentment and affiliative system — the felt sense of safeness, calm and connection, linked to care and attachment. Emotions: contentment, peacefulness, feeling soothed by others and able to self-soothe. It helps regulate the threat system and is often underdeveloped in people who are struggling.
The published model, shown for reference. Switch to “Blank” to see the empty template you complete with a client.
Understanding the model
Our emotions aren't random — they come from systems in the brain and body that evolved to keep us safe, get us going, and help us feel calm and connected. This model, from compassion-focused therapy, describes three of them and how they balance.
The threat system is our built-in alarm. It scans for danger and, when it fires, brings feelings like anxiety, anger or disgust and urges to fight, flee, freeze or submit. It's fast and powerful because, in evolution, missing a threat was costly.
The drive system motivates us to go after things that matter — achievements, resources, fun — bringing energy, excitement and a buzz when we succeed. The soothing system is different again: it's the feeling of being safe, content and connected, the calm that comes from rest and from warm relationships. It helps settle the threat system down.
Many people in distress have a threat system that's easily triggered and a soothing system that rarely comes online — perhaps because of past experiences, or harsh self-criticism that keeps the alarm ringing. The aim isn't to get rid of any system, but to build the soothing system so the three come back into balance.
Questions therapists ask about this model.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three systems?
The threat system is the built-in alarm: it brings anxiety, anger or disgust, and urges to fight, flee, freeze or submit. The drive system motivates the pursuit of goals, resources and rewards, bringing energy, excitement and the buzz of succeeding. The soothing system is the feeling of being safe, content and connected — the calm that comes from rest and from warm relationships — and it helps settle the threat system down.
How is this different from a disorder-specific maintenance formulation?
It is a process model of how emotion is regulated, not a maintaining cycle for a particular presentation, so it does not stand in for a panic, OCD or depression formulation. It is more often used alongside one, to make sense of why threat is so easily triggered and soothing so hard to reach.
Where does the three systems model come from?
It is the organising model of compassion-focused therapy, which Gilbert developed from evolutionary and attachment-informed thinking about emotion. It was set out for a general readership in Gilbert (2009) and described as a therapy in Gilbert (2010), and Gilbert (2014) reviews the origins of the approach, including its roots in work with people troubled by high levels of shame and self-criticism.
Worksheets and reading for this model
Using this model in session — for therapists
How to introduce the model, guided-discovery questions, treatment targets and a behavioural experiment are available to signed-in therapists.
References
- Gilbert, P. (2009). The compassionate mind: A new approach to life's challenges. Constable & Robinson.
- Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(1), 6–41.
- Gilbert, P. (2010). Compassion focused therapy: Distinctive features. Routledge.
This diagram is a reconstruction of the published model for clinical and educational use, grounded in the sources above.
Cite this page (APA 7)
Vermani, T. (2026). Three Systems Model of Emotion Regulation (CFT). Formulate. https://formulatetools.co.uk/tools/formulation/compassion-focused-three-systems
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