Course Description

While adaptive shame is a common human experience that serves important social functions, chronic shame can interfere with emotional presence, relational engagement, and therapeutic progress. In some individuals, chronic shame becomes closely associated with identity, contributing to persistent defensive patterns, dissociation, and diminished agency in therapy.

This presentation will examine the functions of shame, defenses against shame—including those conceptualized within the Compass of Shame—and the impact of chronic shame on emotion regulation, relationships, sense of self, and the therapeutic process. Participants will explore clinical strategies for addressing shame‑based defenses in both clients and therapists.

The session will present an integrative, evidence‑informed framework incorporating cognitive, relational, somatic, and EMDR‑based interventions to diminish chronic shame during therapy sessions. Participants will also examine key antidotes to shame and discuss clinical approaches for facilitating regulation, connection, and reduced shame‑based identification in clients experiencing chronic shame.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe multiple cognitive, relational, somatic, and EMDR‑based interventions used to diminish chronic shame during therapy sessions.
2. Participants will be able to identify the four poles of the Compass of Shame and apply therapeutic strategies to address shame‑based defenses in both clients and therapists.
3. Participants will be able to identify key antidotes to shame and describe clinical approaches for facilitating them in therapy with clients experiencing chronic shame.

Session Level: Intermediate

Presenter(s)

Kathy Steele, MN, CS

Kathy Steele, MN, CS has been in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia for over 40 years. Kathy is a Fellow and past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). She has received several awards for her clinical and published works, including the 2010 ISSTD Lifetime Achievement Award and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Emory University in 2006. She has authored numerous publications, including three books, and many book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. She is an international lecturer on a wide variety of topics related to complex trauma and dissociation.