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Hidden Shame in LGBTQ+ Clients: A Therapist’s Guide to Recognition and Resolution: Video Course

Hidden Shame in LGBTQ+ Clients: A Therapist’s Guide to Recognition and Resolution: Video Course

Even the most experienced therapists can miss the subtle ways shame shapes clinical presentations. Is it shame that underpins a client’s anxiety or depression? Could shame be driving risky behaviors or avoidance of intimacy, especially for those who haven’t yet come out, faced rejection from families, or suffered violence or abuse in intimate relationships? These are the questions we must ask ourselves, as shame often remains hidden beneath the surface—undetected by both clients and therapists. Yet its influence is profound.

Video course packs, including all notes are available immediately on booking. The access links are part of your ticket. Online video access remains available for 1 year from the date you receive the video course.

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£ 72.00

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Course Credits

CPD: 3 / CE: 3

Speaker(s)

Simon Lyne, Silva Neves

Course length in hours

3 hrs of video content

Full course information

Shame in LGBTQ+ clients is not just about personal feelings; it’s deeply tied to societal rejection, discrimination, and internalized homophobia. Many LGBTQ+ individuals have endured and continue to experience chronic shame in societies where heteronormativity is viewed as the dominant and ‘correct’ sexuality, while diverse sexual and gender identities are still often regarded as deviant. Left unaddressed, shame silently erodes self-worth, distorts relationships, and fuels maladaptive coping strategies. This 3-hour workshop, led by Simon Lyne and Silva Neves, is essential for therapists seeking to deepen their practice and recognize how shame shapes the lives of LGBTQ+ clients—both in and out of the therapy room.

Why This Workshop Matters: Recognising Hidden Shame

Shame can masquerade as other clinical symptoms, making it a hidden but central player in many LGBTQ+ clients’ struggles. From unexplained anxiety to self-sabotage, from substance abuse to difficulties with intimacy, shame often drives the distress we see but don’t immediately recognize. This is especially true for clients who may not yet be out or are still grappling with their identity in a hostile environment. Are we adequately equipped to identify and address these complex layers of shame in our practice?

This workshop offers practical tools to help therapists identify and work through the often-hidden presence of shame. Simon and Silva will guide you through recognizing the key clinical signs of shame and explain how it manifests uniquely in LGBTQ+ clients due to cultural and societal pressures.

What You’ll Learn: Shame-Informed Clinical Practice

We’ll explore both classic and modern shame theories—including Nathanson’s Shame Compass and Etherson’s Shame Containment Theory—and apply them specifically to LGBTQ+ clients. Whether it’s understanding the shame of clients who haven’t come out, or recognising shame-based avoidance and self-harm, this workshop will empower you with the tools to uncover and work through shame with compassion and effectiveness.

Practical Interventions for LGBTQ+ Clients

Through interactive case examples, you’ll learn actionable interventions to help clients understand their shame, externalise it, and begin the healing process. From compassion-focused therapy to shame containment techniques, Simon and Silva will show you how to incorporate culturally sensitive, LGBTQ+-affirming approaches that create a safe space for clients to confront shame and rebuild self-worth.

Self-Reflection: Examining Our Own Relationship with Shame

As therapists, our own experiences of shame inevitably enter the room. How might our relationship with shame influence the therapeutic space? This workshop will guide practitioners through self-reflective exercises, helping us confront our own shame-related blind spots. The goal is to foster a more open, authentic therapeutic stance, essential for building trust and resilience in our LGBTQ+ clients.

This workshop will help us:

  • Understand Theoretical Frameworks on Shame: Gain insights into classic and contemporary theories of shame and apply them to LGBTQ+ clients, understanding how cultural rejection amplifies these dynamics.
  • Identify Shame in Clinical Presentations: Learn to spot shame’s influence in common LGBTQ+ client issues, from anxiety and depression to risky behaviour and relational struggles, including those who have not yet come out.
  • Use LGBTQ+-Centred Interventions: Learn practical, shame-informed techniques such as shame containment and compassion-focused approaches tailored specifically to LGBTQ+ clients. Gain tools to help clients recognise and process shame, fostering self-compassion and emotional resilience in a culturally sensitive, affirming way.
  • Reflect on Your Relationship with Shame: and its impact on our therapeutic practice, fostering greater self-awareness to enhance our work with LGBTQ+ clients.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss the theories of shame and apply them to LGBTQ+ clients, taking into account how cultural rejection amplifies these dynamics.
  • Explain how to spot shame’s influence in common LGBTQ+ client issues, from anxiety and depression to risky behaviour and relational struggles, including those who have not yet come out.
  • Apply practical, shame-informed techniques such as shame containment and compassion-focused approaches tailored specifically to LGBTQ+ clients.

This is an opportunity to enhance our clinical practice, as practitioners, sharpen our ability to recognise hidden shame, and make a transformative difference in the mental health and well-being of our LGBTQ+ clients.

© nscience 2024 / 25

What's included in this course

What you’ll learn

We’ll explore both classic and modern shame theories—including Nathanson’s Shame Compass and Etherson’s Shame Containment Theory—and apply them specifically to LGBTQ+ clients. Whether it’s understanding the shame of clients who haven’t come out, or recognising shame-based avoidance and self-harm, this workshop will empower you with the tools to uncover and work through shame with compassion and effectiveness.

Learning objectives

  • Discuss the theories of shame and apply them to LGBTQ+ clients, taking into account how cultural rejection amplifies these dynamics.
  • Explain how to spot shame’s influence in common LGBTQ+ client issues, from anxiety and depression to risky behaviour and relational struggles, including those who have not yet come out.
  • Apply practical, shame-informed techniques such as shame containment and compassion-focused approaches tailored specifically to LGBTQ+ clients.

About the speaker(s)

Simon Lyne is an integrative cognitive behavioural and psychosexual psychotherapist, with extensive experience in the NHS and private practice. He specialises in shame within LGBTQ+ communities and authored Working With Sexual Shame in Erotically Queer (2023).

Silva Neves is an award-winning, COSRT-accredited psychotherapist specialising in sexology and intimate relationships. He is a clinical associate of Pink Therapy, a broadcaster, and an international speaker known for his culturally sensitive work with LGBTQ+ clients.

nscience UK is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. nscience UK maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

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