The Shame Spiral: Release Shame and Cultivate Healthy Attachment in Clients with Anxiety, Trauma, Depression and Relational Difficulties

CPD

Handouts

Speakers

Debra Alvis Related seminars and products: 9

Ph.D.

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Debra Alvis, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and private practitioner with over 25 years of clinical experience in supporting clients’ recovery from shame, trauma, anxiety, depression and relational concerns. A seasoned international presenter and consultant, Dr. Alvis is a therapeutic yoga educator and retired as faculty from the University of Georgia where she developed and led the Mind/Body Program. The program included a clinician training program integrating contemplative approaches in psychotherapy. A thirty-five year personal contemplative practice, research experience, and a deep understanding of applied neuroscience, Polyvagal Theory, and compassion resiliency further enrich her presentations. She draws upon this unique background to provide effective and easily applicable skills designed for immediate integration into clinician’s practices.

Speaker Disclosure:
Financial: Debra Alvis is in private practice. Dr. Alvis receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Debra Alvis has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

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Objectives

1. Enhance client attunement with clinical strategies that replicate conditions for healthy attachment.
2. Characterize how shame complicates the treatment of trauma and specify how shame can be worked within traumatized clients.
3. Evaluate how shame can be addressed in your treatment plans with self-forgiveness interventions that can help facilitate recovery.
4. Communicate how anxiety generated by feelings of shame can be managed with breathing techniques that can be taught in-session.
5. Establish how depressed clients can manage shame generated negative emotions with imagery-based compassion exercises.
6. Analyze how mindfulness can be incorporated into therapy with shame-prone clients to reduce judgmental thoughts and reactivity.

Outline

Recognize Shame: Assessment Tools

• Shame vs. guilt
• Multicultural perspectives
• How addressing shame expedites treatment
• Reading the body – non-verbal signs of shame
• Interviewing questions for assessing shame in:
  • Key relationships and current patterns
  • Sexual, physical or verbal abuse, trauma, and neglect

Shame and Attachment Styles: Clinical Strategies to Cultivate Secure Attachment and Self-Compassion

• Characteristics of shaming environments
• Concerns of adults shamed in childhood
• Strategies to replicate conditions for healthy attachment
  • How to enhance presence, attunement, resonance and trust
  • Dignity in the telling – titrating shame exposure
• Somatic approaches to cultivate secure attachment
  • Developmental movements
  • Horizontal processing
• Self-compassion exercises
  • Interventions to address interpersonal difficulties
  • Befriend bodily sensations
  • Common humanity visualizations

Address Shame in Your Trauma Treatment Plans: Reclaim the Body from Shame with Breath and Movement

• How shame complicates trauma recovery
• Polyvagal theory – shame and the shutdown response
• Shame and victims of sexual assault – from victim to survivor
• Exercises to strengthen connections
  • Belongingness treasures
  • Divine child mandala
  • I am meditation – choosing visibility
• Interventions based in breath and movement
  • Heart mudra and breath – embracing resistance
  • The peaceful warrior

Effectively Intervene in the Downward Spiral of Shame, Anxiety and Depression:

Cognitive approaches that lean into ruminatory shame

• Put shame into perspective
• Dispute shame messages

Anxiety interventions for the shame-prone client

• Breath and movement strategies to stem panic
• How yoga addresses anxiety symptoms

Breakthrough shame fueled depression with:

• Techniques to bring shame to light
• Prosocial behaviour
• Imagery-based compassion exercises

The Devastating Impact of Shame in Relationships: Build, Maintain and Repair Couple and Family Relationships

• Unmask shame – anger and other disguises
• Engage partners in shame reparation
• Shame resiliency strategies – empathy, forgiveness and compassion
  • Forgiveness in practice – Releasing breath with mantra
  • Identify shame wounds and antidotes
  • Mindful RAIN for shame – regulate emotions and reduce judgmental thoughts

Shame Research, Limitations and Treatment Risks

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Case Managers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Chaplains/Clergy
• Other Mental Health Professionals

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