What to do with shame

• Therapeutic Interventions with Shame by Ed Schmookler, PhD., 5/6/96
  
  

I'm not so sure your summary was all that much simpler than how I handle shame therapeutically. I'd say you've pretty much got it down. Sounds simple, but it helps people tremendously. Simply expressing the shame to an accepting audience has curative powers. The normative explanations are very important to patients. It's bad enough people experience these feelings, but additionally people tend to feel like there's something wrong with them for having the feeling (the nature of shame). Knowing that it is a feeling response that makes logical sense in certain situations goes a long way toward detoxifying the experience.

The Cognitive therapists additionally point out that we will look for any beliefs or self statements that were incorrect or distorted and contributed to the shame experience. If these are found they are explored as in any Cognitive therapy.

What we do with patients may not look all that different, but an awareness of shame helps us not overlook the many situations where it needs to be done.

Please feel to present any specific situations or case material and we will be happy to give more specific examples of the ways this "shame awareness" might influence what we do with patients.

• Somatization and Avoidance by B.B., 12/31/96
  • somatization by Don Nathanson, 1/2/97