Outline

Shame: assessment tools.

• Shame vs. guilt
• Multicultural perspectives
• How addressing shame expedites treatment
• Reading the body – non-verbal signs of shame
• Interviewing questions for assessing shame in:
  • Key relationships and current patterns
  • Sexual, physical or verbal abuse, trauma, and neglect

Shame and Attachment Styles. Clinical Strategies to Cultivate Attachment and Self-Compassion.

• Characteristics of shaming environments
• Concerns of adults shamed in childhood
• Strategies to replicate conditions for healthy attachment
  • How to enhance presence, attunement, resonance and trust
  • Dignity in the telling – titrating shame exposure
• Somatic approaches to cultivate secure attachment
  • Developmental movements
  • Horizontal processing
• Self-compassion exercises
  • Interventions to address interpersonal difficulties
  • Befriend bodily sensations
  • Common humanity visualizations

Shame in your trauma treatment plans. The body can be reclaimed with breath and movement.

• How shame complicates trauma recovery
• Polyvagal theory – shame and the shutdown response
• Shame and victims of sexual assault – from victim to survivor
• Exercises to strengthen connections
  • Belongingness treasures
  • Divine child mandala
  • I am meditation – choosing visibility
• Interventions based in breath and movement
  • Heart mudra and breath – embracing resistance
  • The peaceful warrior

Intervene in the Downward Spiral of Shame, Anxiety and Depression.

There are approaches that lean into ruminatory shame.

• Put shame into perspective
• Dispute shame messages

The shame-prone client needs anxiety interventions.

• Breath and movement strategies to stem panic
• How yoga addresses anxiety symptoms

Depression can be broken through shame.

• Techniques to bring shame to light
• Prosocial behavior
• Imagery-based compassion exercises

Shame has a devastating impact on relationships. Couple and family relationships should be maintained and repaired.

• Unmask shame – anger and other disguises
• Engage partners in shame reparation
• Shame resiliency strategies – empathy, forgiveness and compassion
  • Forgiveness in practice – Releasing breath with mantra
  • Identify shame wounds and antidotes
  • Mindful RAIN for shame – regulate emotions and reduce judgmental thoughts

Shame research, limitations and treatment risks.