Aspects of shame in analysis

Summary

The fear of shame has been described as a major stabilizer of defensive structures operating to keep material hidden, both in and out of analysis. Material has been presented to illustrate the role of shame in the analytic process. The case was chosen because the patient's feelings of shame were particularly manifest; his affective pattern afforded an excellent opportunity to understand shame in the context of a dynamic defensive system. Certain technical considerations about the handling of shame as a defensive motivation were described and discussed. Some of these techniques have had a wide general application relevant to many defenses, but their special applicability to shame was stressed. They were grouped under the headings of demonstrations of experiencing shame, elaboration of blackmail costs, furtherance of trust, and explicit labeling of shame ingredients.