The Elephant in the Room: Working with the Hidden Faces of Shame

Shame is like a virus that infects the soul and yet remains largely hidden. As a social emotion, shame can have crippling effects on individuals, in particular those that have experienced prolonged and systematic complex trauma, such as in childhood sexual abuse and domestic abuse.  This presentation will examine the nature and complex dynamics of shame and its impact and long term effects. It will identify the various faces of shame and how it manifests in both counsellor and client, and its role in attacks on self and others.  Counsellors own shame will be addressed and how this can help or hinder the discharge of shame in clients alongside a range of therapeutic strategies and techniques that facilitate the release of shame to promote healing.

The Web of Shame

This experiential workshop will enable practitioners to enhance their understanding of their own experience of shame. In creating a web of shame they will be able to 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.

Both of these events will be held on 20th November 2016 at our Annual Conference

Christiane Sanderson BSc., MSc. is a senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton. With 26 years’ experience working with survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual violence, complex trauma and domestic abuse she has delivered consultancy, continuous professional development and professional training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, therapists, counsellors, solicitors, the NSPCC, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Committee, the Methodist Church, the Metropolitan Police Service, SOLACE, the Refugee Council, Birmingham City Council Youth Offending Team, and HMP Bronzefiled.  In her capacity as a sexual violence and child sexual abuse consultant she has contributed to news coverage on BBC TV and BBC Radio, and Sky News, as well as being featured  in a number of documentaries involving sexual violence, including Fred and Rose (West): The Untold Story  (Channel  5, 2014); ‘Hotel of Horrors’ (2014) and  The Cul-de-Sac Cult (2015) on the Crime and Investigation Network (Sky Channel 553).

Christiane is the author of 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;   The Spirit Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Religious Sexual Abuse Across All Faiths and   Responding to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: A pocket guide for professionals, partners, families and friends and provided the analysis for Survivors’ Voices: Breaking the Silence on living with the impact of child sexual abuse in the family environment for the charity One in Four for whom she is a trustee.