This frequently-requested training, Working the Somatics of Shame, expands on the webinar Craig offered several years ago.
Shame is a complex “dilemma,” holding varied emotions, beliefs and somatic reactions behind dynamics of hiding and disconnecting.
Therapists are often reluctant to address issues of shame directly, as they can easily touch experiences of helplessness and ineffectiveness in us. This does not have to be the case.
A compromised ability to self-reflect well is often a hallmark of dynamics that keep us from working through shame. Thus, shame is a developmental inhibitor. We can try to live around it, and yet we live with its constrictions, sometimes for our entire lives.
There is often a strong dynamic that prevents certain beliefs from ever being really questioned. When this is exposed and addressed first, it can open the door to address what has never been able to be viewed.
The physiology of shame can point us to moments of NS activation that require sustained awareness to effectively work through - on somatic, emotional and cognitive levels. We need to notice these pivotal points as they arise in order to pace the activation that drives such strong avoidance.
This live online experiential training includes:
Presentation and discussion
Conceptually how shame works, and a somatic perspective of how to work those dynamics effectively
Experiential exercises
Demonstration sessions and roleplays
Short practicum sessions
Your personal involvement in the process will be an important part of developing your skills and confidence to be “all in” as you work with your clients. This asks us all to be present with whatever emerges.
Topics include:
Therapists’ caution about being able to work effectively with shame
Clients’ caution and sense of hopelessness
How to be “well positioned” as a therapist so your job is possible
Dynamics of disallowed questioning of beliefs sets up shame as a perpetual dynamic
Shame as a developmental inhibitor
Undeveloped discernment as foundational for the inability to resolve
Losing trust in one’s perceptions - how this occurs, manifestations, and ways to work with this
Signs of ineffective protest can be doorways for needed mobilization
Working with helplessness and nuances of disconnecting dynamics that can guide our focus
Noting somatic and nervous system “signs of struggle”
Pacing according to resilience and ways to sustain awareness when the heat rises and traction is hard to maintain
Addressing beliefs that are experienced as intractable, such as “undeserving”
Noticing “overriding dynamics” that can let valuable heat out
Working through moments of “confusion”
Therapists’ commitment to be “all in” to do this work
Friday, May 2 to Saturday, May 3, 2025
8:00 am - 4:30 pm Pacific Time
14 CE Credits available. See FAQ for details.