Framing and Transforming Shame: Exploring shame from a person-centred perspective

Shame is a key emotion requiring understanding in therapeutic practice, not only from the perspective of a client but also from that of a practitioner. Shame may be outside or on the edge of awareness manifesting itself in different ways. This study explored shame as understood and experienced by person-centred counsellors and psychotherapists. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five person-centred therapists and data analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) which identified two themes: Framing Shame and Transforming Shame. Shame impacts on the efficacy of therapeutic work and supervision. Therefore, approaching shame from a place of principled non-directivity may be helpful for transforming shame in therapeutic work because it supports the therapist to empathically attune to the client, so clients can explore these experiences at their own pace. This paper considers these themes through the lens of person-centred theory, recognising the importance of understanding this master emotion from its source in past events and experiences.