Shame and Systems Thinking in Criminal Justice and Mental Health *Systems*

• Reintegrative shaming praised by Rich Kuyper, 1/30/97
  • The Purpose Of This Forum by Don Nathanson, 1/30/97
    
    

Rich and Don, I've been following your posts that have now evolved toward applying shame to the criminal justice system (cjs). Check out the post of D. King (1/14/97) entitled "criminal psychology" in the bol general discussion forum (gdf). Note the use of the term "fun job" as King works with a man who tries to hang himself. What we are up against in applying shame to the larger world problems (I apply Tomkins theories in a rubber-hits-the-road way to the workplace) is denial in our own mental health field. This is a very large systems problem (sometimes called "political," but I stick to "systems"). The cjs is now the prison industrial complex (pic) and pic is the fastest growing employer for young psychologists. See the flurry of interest surrounding King's post.

I have found enormous resistance (shame about shame in systems) to mental health professionals (mhps) being able to take the kind of systems view that your exchange has now approached. Don, I understand there is a chapter in _Many Faces of Shame_ on shame in systems. Is this true and is this book still available? Where else is there written information on shame as a systems problem? Judy Wyatt and I (in our book _Work Abuse_) have viewed shame as the way workgroup norms (not to be confused with "scripts") are enforced. I get a lot of inquiries from therapists who are being verbally abused in agencies or as interns. I ask them to look at the systems nature of the problem--- -that the supervisor who is shaming him or her has been shamed, and that the norm of shaming "immediate inferiors" is enforced by shame (supervisors of supervisors expect tough treatment---- see the post in gdf by Diane Allen 12/28/96 Need Feedback on Self Disclosure in Counseling.)

So what we have here is the opportunity by mhps to be well-paid instruments of shame (pass on their own mistreatment as well as represent the societal interests for shaming) in the prison industrial complex----because they've been setup systemically to do so. We have an enormous educational job to do right in our own backyard. We have to break through mhps denial of the systems nature of shame. This is called "breaking the norm of silence that seals all other norms."

Again, thank you for your posts on "offenders"----I wonder how many of these male "offenders" are being abused at work, and are just passing along their mistreatment to their families, because there is no way the work system will hear them and relieve them of the shame they receive as "immediate inferiors" in the 95% of workplaces that remain and will remain undemocratic and autarchic (my area of "interest'). Chauncey Hare. workfamily@workmail.com --------------------------------------------

• Shaming Systems by Don Nathanson, 1/31/97
  • Thank You for the Response on Systems. Work Abuse Book Is at the Printers by c.h., 1/31/97
• Shame in systems by Rich Kuyper, 2/1/97
  • Yes, Work Stress Is the Euphemism That Propogates Self-Shaming in the Work System by c.h., 2/2/97
    • Change in systems requires change in language by Don Nathanson, 2/2/97
      • A systems approach to shame and abuse by Rich Kuyper, 2/3/97
        • It isn't just shame by Don Nathanson, 2/3/97
      • A Neat Hope, Yes! And an Absolute Necessity by c.h., 2/3/97
    • Response to work stress by Margaret Blakely, LPC, 2/2/97
      • Go Get 'Em Margaret by Vick Kelly, 2/4/97
        • (No title) by Margaret Blakely, 2/6/97
          • Response to work stress by by Diane VanCleave, 8/12/98
    • Anyone Who Uses Tompkins' Language is a Change Agent....and Beware by c.h., 2/6/97
      • Change agent by Margaret Blakely, 2/8/97
  • The Genesis? by Lee D. Downs, D.Min., 2/24/97
    • Propose We Move Workplace Issues Out of This Forum by c.h., 2/26/97
      • No, Chauncey, Don't Go!! by Don Nathanson, 2/26/97
• Potential of the Shame-Affect Forum to Support *Systems Interventions* by c.h., 2/9/97
  • Support and Vacations by Vick Kelly, 2/12/97