Understanding and Treating Shame

Product Description

Shame is a deeply painful, universal emotion, but isn’t frequently discussed, even in psychotherapy. It’s the torment we feel when we’re exposed, humiliated, or rejected, and also the vague feeling of not being good enough. Though we yearn for love and acceptance, we may feel unworthy of it.

Shame often lurks in the unconscious and drives our behavior outside of our awareness, while leading to doubt, insecurity, and anxiety. It beleaguers us with self-judgment, guilt, and “shoulds,” undermining self-esteem and destroying confidence. It has the potential to destroy our enjoyment of life, success in work, and ability to have satisfying relationships.

Shame underlies codependency and addictions and is linked to relationship problems, aggression, psychological abuse, mood and eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation. It’s a major cause of depression.

This webinar explains the nature and causes of internalized shame, shame spirals, and how shame differs from guilt. It covers our defenses to it,  such as arrogance, perfectionism, and people-pleasing, and how it produces codependent traits. You will be able to spot how shame manifests in your clients, how they cope with it, and ways to intervene. You will gain an understanding of how shame affects couples’ interactions, how it escalates conflict and ruins relationships. You will be able to identify the intrapersonal dynamics of shame that motivate couples’ interpersonal communication and behavior patterns. I will discuss shame’s tell-tale signs and outline the steps necessary for recovery.

You will learn the following:

1. How to spot when shame in your clients.
2. The difference between shame and guilt.
3. The nature of internalized toxic and acute shame.
4. The causes of shame.
5. The effect of shame on personality development.
6. How shame creates obstacles to intimacy and communication.
7. How to identify defenses to shame.
8. How shame manifests in symptoms of codependency.
9. How to identify and interrupt shame spirals.
10. How shame perpetuates the cycle of abandonment.
11.  How to treat shame.
12. The goals of recovery.