In One Clinical Mistake That Can Heighten a Client’s Shame, Peter Levine shares a common approach by practitioners that could inadvertently increase a client's sense of shame.
When a person feels shamed, we can tend to notice a very particular posture and autonomic pattern. The presentation in the body is one of collapse. Interestingly, this is very similar to what we might see in trauma.
Another telling sign of people who struggle with shameful feelings is how they read others' faces. Peter shares some fascinating study results on this topic from a recent talk he gave with Bessel van der Kolk, the top expert in treating trauma.
He details what normally happens in the brain when we see a friendly face, compared to how a traumatized or shamed person's brain reacts when they see that same friendly face.
And this is the basis of Peter's warning to practitioners when it comes to treating certain clients. He has found a very common approach to minimizing shame that could be having the exact opposite effect.
On top of that, a therapist's natural instincts in these situations could actually lock the client into a loop that drives them even deeper into their shame.
But there are ways to prevent this. Peter offers one simple but powerful change during your session that could be a difference-maker for clients who feel shamed.
