Fight/flight, freeze, and fawn are natural human coping strategies in response to major trauma, but the fawn and freeze responses can lead to confusion, lasting regrets, and an overwhelming sense of self-blame for what happened to the client or others. Survivors’ guilt and ‘participation guilt’ can further intensify these feelings, potentially devolving into a chronic sense of shame that our clients carry with them long after the traumatic events. Although clients often think of guilt and shame synonymously, they are actuallydistinct, evoking different emotions and cognitions, and requiring diverse therapeutic approaches and interventions. Guilt can serve a productive function when handled appropriately, but unresolved shame will continue to compromise a client’s sense of self-worth.

Addressing shame and guilt is crucial in trauma therapy, as these powerful emotions can block progress and perpetuate a cycle of self-blame and distress. It is almost impossible for trauma survivors to find healing and closure unless guilt and shame have been effectively addressed in therapy. With the right therapeutic support, the cognitive distortions and emotional dysregulation created by guilt and shame can be disentangled, metabolized, and healed. Without addressing guilt and shame, therapeutic progress can be significantly impeded, and post-traumatic growth may be compromised, as these emotions often underlie many of the symptoms and coping mechanisms that trauma survivors exhibit. By equipping therapists with the tools and knowledge to navigate these complex emotions, clients can be guided toward greater self-understanding and healing.

In this intellectually stimulating and therapeutically oriented workshop, we will begin by examining the difference between guilt and shame and why shame is so difficult to resolve. We will then focus on:

• Identifying the specific dynamics of trauma and early childhood coping strategies that promote and sustain shame: Early childhood trauma disrupts emotional development, leading to coping strategies like dissociation, trauma bonding, forced cooperation and compliance, emotional suppression, and internalized blame. These strategies initially provide protection but ultimately entrench feelings of shame, as children see themselves as inherently flawed. This internalized shame persists into adulthood, complicating efforts to reframe these negative self-perceptions.
• Explaining the trauma survivor’s DSM and how experiences of trauma, abuse, and neglect begin to define a client’s sense of self: Rather than framing trauma as something bad that happened to them, they internalize the experience and conclude that they are damaged and bad.
• The role of the Inner Critic in fueling guilt and shame: The Inner Critic can manifest cognitively and emotionally in a variety of ways, often with the intention of being protective and creating secondary gains to lower expectations and reduce disappointment and rejection. However, this inner dialogue deepens debilitating feelings, and the concept of “protection” must be renegotiated through a Parts perspective.
• Identifying the two key ingredients that are the antidotes to shame: Therapists must use invitations for expressive interventions and the reframing of negative self-talk to move clients cognitively, emotionally, and somatically away from shame. A wide variety of creative modalities will be explored, along with practical steps to create more positive self-talk.
• The manifestations of guilt and shame on clients’ bodies and how to use somatic resourcing to strengthen a sense of empowerment: Guilt and shame manifest physically as chronic tension, anxiety, aches, digestive issues, fatigue, and depression. Somatic resourcing uses techniques like posture, Power Poses, comforting touch, and mindful movement to help clients reclaim a sense of empowerment in their bodies and build control. These methods enhance body awareness and help clients experience a greater sense of confidence.
• The role the therapeutic relationship plays in helping clients process and transcend shame: The therapeutic relationship offers a safe, non-judgmental space for clients to explore shame. The therapist’s empathy and validation help shift internalized shame narratives. Through consistent support and acceptance, clients learn self-compassion and develop a shame-resilient identity, essential for healing.

This practically oriented workshop provides a clinical framework for therapists to compassionately assist their clients in understanding and addressing the root causes of guilt and shame for effective trauma therapy. The workshop uses numerous case examples to illustrate and reinforce these points, providing practical, real-world scenarios to demonstrate how these strategies can be effectively applied. This approach helps us, as therapists, to understand the application of theoretical concepts in actual clinical settings, thereby enhancing our ability to support clients in their healing journey.

Specifically, we will focus on:

• Incorporating Psychoeducation: Educating clients about the necessary coping strategies associated with trauma, such as dissociation, shifting the locus of control, self-blame, and the fawn response (a trauma response characterized by people-pleasing behaviors to avoid conflict or further trauma), to foster insight and awareness.
• Therapeutic Relationship: Utilizing the power of the therapeutic relationship to create a safe and supportive environment where clients can explore and process their emotions.
• Cognitive Reframing: Implementing cognitive reframing techniques to help clients re-evaluate and challenge their internal narratives related to guilt and shame.
• Parts Work: Engaging in parts work to identify and address the parts that hold guilt and shame, and the Inner Critic that holds onto and exacerbates those emotions.
• Somatic Modalities: Incorporating somatic modalities to help clients release the embodiment of shame from their bodies and reclaim a positive sense of self-worth.
• Expressive Modalities: Utilizing expressive modalities such as drawing, journaling, and movement to provide alternative avenues for clients to process and express their emotions.
• Implement at least three strategies designed to strengthen self-compassion and curiosity cognitively, somatically, and creatively.
• Use body scan awareness to understand the embodiment of shame, as well as the process of realignment to strengthen confidence and self-esteem.

Learning Objectives: 

• Discuss how to educate clients about the necessary coping strategies associated with trauma, such as dissociation, shifting the locus of control, self-blame, and the fawn response (a trauma response characterized by people-pleasing behaviors to avoid conflict or further trauma), to foster insight and awareness.
• Use cognitive reframing techniques to help clients re-evaluate and challenge their internal narratives related to guilt and shame.
• Apply somatic modalities to help clients release the embodiment of shame from their bodies and reclaim a positive sense of self-worth.
• Utilize expressive modalities such as drawing, journaling, and movement to provide alternative avenues for clients to process and express their emotions.
• Implement at least three strategies designed to strengthen self-compassion and curiosity cognitively, somatically, and creatively.
• Use body scan awareness to understand the embodiment of shame, as well as the process of realignment to strengthen confidence and self-esteem.

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