Aberdeen Counselling Forum

Upcoming Event with Aberdeen Counselling Forum 2025

'The Web of Shame in the Therapeutic Space'

Led by Christiane Sanderson

Saturday 6th September 2025, 10am-4pm

Venue:  Garden Lounge, Fountainhall Church, Harcourt Rd, Aberdeen, AB15 5NZ

About the workshop:

Shame is like a virus that infects the soul and yet remains largely hidden. As a social emotion shame regulates social behaviour and is often shrouded in secrecy and silence. It will explore when healthy shame can become chronic, or toxic and its crippling effect on individuals, in particular those that carry the burden of intergenerational shame and are raised in shame prone families, or who have histories of abandonment, prolonged or systematic emotional, physical or sexual abuse, neglect or exposure to domestic violence.

This training  will examine the complex nature of shame, its origins and function. It will distinguish between adaptive shame and chronic shame, shame and guilt and its relationship to hubristic and authentic pride, and the range of shame states and shame traits. Alongside this, it will explore the impact of chronic shame and long term effects, and identify the various defences against shame such as withdrawal, attacking self, avoidance and attacking others and their link to self-harm, addictions, repugnant obsessions, perfectionism, narcissism, grandiosity, rage and violence. Through experiential exercises , participants with be able to identify their own shame as well as that of their clients, and how this impacts on the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic process.  Awareness of practitioner shame and their defences against shame is critical in being able to work through shame and minimise the risk of re-shaming clients.  

Alongside enhancing awareness of shame in both client and practitioner in the clinical setting, the focus will be on how to release shame and build shame resilience through a range of therapeutic techniques and strategies as well as experiential exercises. Emphasis will be placed on creative, right brain based exercises such as the embodiment of shame, unpeeling the masks of shame, use of nesting dolls, and re-apportioning shame as well compassion focused exercises to promote healing, restore authentic pride and build shame resilience.  Emphasis will be on:

· An experiential exercise in which small individual groups will each create a web of shame.This experiential exercise will enable practitioners to enhance their understanding of their own experience of shame.

· Explore what shame means to them, the silence and secrecy that shrouds shame and how to break the silence and share shame with others. In embracing their own shame they will feel more equipped to tolerate and work with shame in the therapeutic setting.

·  The origins and function and function of shame,  and distinguish between healthy shame and chronic shame,  shame and guilt and its relationship to hubristic and authentic pride

· Shame as a social emotion that regulates social behaviour but can become toxic through the intergenerational transmission of shame in shame prone families and through childhood physical and sexual abuse. 

·  The impact and long term effects of shame and how this manifests in  practice.

· Identify the primary defences against shame such as withdrawal, attacking self, avoidance and attacking others in both client and practitioner and their link to self-harm, addictions, repugnant obsessions, perfectionism, narcissism, grandiosity, rage and violence.  

· Identify not just clients shame but also practitioner shame and how this impacts on the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic process including practitioner shame to minimise the risk of re-shaming clients. 

·  Building shame resilience through a range of experiential exercises including  reapportioning  shame and the use of nesting dolls

· Introduce  compassion focused exercises to restore authentic pride

· How to incorporate Shame Sensitive Practice into practitioner preferred modality 

About the presenter:

Christiane Sanderson is a former senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton, London with over 35 years of experience working in the field of childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence and complex trauma. She has delivered advice and training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, therapists, counsellors, the police and faith communities. Her research interests span trauma informed therapeutic practice, PTSD, Complex Trauma, CSA, domestic abuse and Narcissism. She is the author of  We Are Still Here: What Counsellors and Therapists Can learn from the Lived Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors;  Working with Survivors of Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Guide to Therapeutic Support and Protection for Children and Adults;  Counselling Skills for Working with Shame;  Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma: Healing from Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse;   Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd edition;  Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse;   The Seduction of Children: Empowering Parents and Teachers to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse, and Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma, all published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. She has also written The Warrior Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Sexual Violence 4^th Edition; The Spirit Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Religious Sexual Abuse Across All Faiths; Responding to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: A pocket guide for professionals, partners, families and friends,  and Numbing the Pain: A pocket guide for professionals supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse and addiction  for the charity One in Four for whom she is a trustee.

Booking form: see here

Aberdeen Counselling Forum Committee