​Duration: 10 Weeks
Schedule: 3 hours per week
Audience: Therapists, counsellors, coaches, bodyworkers, pastors, social workers, and mental-health professionals.
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Week 1 — Understanding Shame: Foundations & Functions
Learning Outcomes
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Define shame and distinguish it from guilt, embarrassment & humiliation
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Understand shame as a social and survival emotion
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Explore the adaptive and maladaptive roles of shame
Lecture Topics
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Primary vs. secondary shame
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The evolutionary function of shame
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How shame shapes identity, behaviour & relationships
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Introduction to the “shadow self” (non-clinical archetypal concept)
Practice
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Values exploration activity
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“Shame vs guilt” experiential sorting exercise
Assignment
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Journal: “My personal history with shame.”
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Week 2 — The Neurobiology of Shame & Emotional Dysregulation
Learning Outcomes
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Understand the brain circuits linked to shame
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Recognize physiological shame reactions (collapse, freeze, hiding, shrinking)
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Understand the body’s role in storing shame memories
Lecture Topics
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Shame and the nervous system: dorsal vagal shutdown
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Somatic markers, posture & shame-based body language
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Shame spirals, rumination, and inner critic activation
Practice
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Somatic shame-mapping
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Grounding techniques for shame activation
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Week 3 — Assessment & Case Formulation: Identifying Shame Patterns
Learning Outcomes
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Identify shame-based thinking & behaviours
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Conduct shame-sensitive assessments
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Create trauma-informed case formulations involving shame
Lecture Topics
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Behavioral signs of shame: avoidance, perfectionism, people-pleasing
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Attachment wounds & developmental shame
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Shame scripts & self-beliefs
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Integrating shame into formulation frameworks
Practice
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Roleplay: shame-sensitive interviewing
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Building a 5-P formulation for a shame-driven case
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Week 4 — The Hidden Shadow Self: Archetypes, Repression & Projections
Learning Outcomes
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Understand the concept of the “shadow self”
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Explore how repression, denial, and projection form the hidden self
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Recognize shadow dynamics in clients
Lecture Topics
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Theoretical roots: Jungian shadow (non-clinical overview)
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Splitting, idealization & devaluation
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Projection as a defence against shame
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Shadow traits: aggression, envy, fragility, desire, vulnerability
Practice
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Shadow journaling: identifying hidden traits
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Projection mapping exercise
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Week 5 — Cognitive & Narrative Approaches to Shame
Learning Outcomes
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Identify shame-based cognitive distortions
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Help clients rewrite shame narratives
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Introduce healthy self-talk & self-perception
Lecture Topics
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Common distorted beliefs (“I’m unlovable,” “I’m broken”)
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Naming vs. suppressing shame
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Narrative reconstruction methods
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Countering the inner critic
Practice
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Narrative rewriting workshop
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Group reframing exercises
Formative Assignment
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Essay 1,000 Words: “How shame creates a shadow self.”
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Week 6 — Somatic & Relational Approaches to Healing Shame
Learning Outcomes
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Use somatic practices to regulate shame states
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Understand relational repair and co-regulation
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Deepen client capacity for safe vulnerability
Lecture Topics
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Shame in the body: contraction & collapse
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Gentle exposure & titration
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Corrective emotional experiences
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Relational attunement & therapeutic presence
Practice
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Grounding & expansion techniques
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Relational mirroring practice
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Safe-embodiment exercises
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Week 7 — Shame in Relationships: Attachment, Boundaries & Intimacy
Learning Outcomes
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Explore shame’s impact on intimacy, communication & attachment
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Support clients navigating shame-driven relational patterns
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Apply boundary-setting in the context of shame
Lecture Topics
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Attachment shame: abandonment, rejection & fear of exposure
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Shame in romantic & family relationships
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People-pleasing, avoidance, anger & shutdown
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Boundary distortions caused by shame
Practice
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Boundaries roleplay
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Relationship mapping activity
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Week 8 — The Social, Cultural & Collective Dimensions of Shame
Learning Outcomes
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Understand cultural roots of shame
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Identify social norms shaping shame expressions
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Adapt interventions to diverse worldviews
Lecture Topics
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Shame in collectivist vs. individualist cultures
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Social shame: stigma, honour, reputation
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Gendered shame & identity-based shame
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Community norms and internalized narratives
Practice
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Cultural shame case analysis
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Group discussion on multicultural shame sensitivity
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Week 9 — Working with Deep Shame, Self-Hatred & the Inner Critic
Learning Outcomes
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Help clients navigate severe shame states
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Guide clients from self-rejection to self-acceptance
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Understand the roots of self-hatred and self-sabotage
Lecture Topics
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Severe shame loops: worthlessness, hopelessness, invisibility
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The inner critic’s origins & functions
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Self-compassion, boundaries & emotional regulation
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Healthy vs. unhealthy responsibility
Practice
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Inner critic / inner protector dialogues
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Compassion-focused practices
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Mapping the shame spiral
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Week 10 — Ethics, Integration & Practitioner Shadow Work
Learning Outcomes
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Understand ethical responsibilities in shame work
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Recognize countertransference and therapist shame
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Develop long-term wellbeing & resilience as a practitioner
Lecture Topics
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Shame triggers in therapists
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Ethical boundaries when exploring vulnerability
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Confidentiality, pacing & client safety
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Integrating shadow work into professional practice
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Course synthesis & future professional pathways
Practice
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Supervision-style group reflection
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Therapist shadow journaling
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Developing a personalised resilience plan
Summative Assignment
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Essay 3,500 Words: “How shame creates a shadow self.”
PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN WORKING WITH SHAME & THE HIDDEN SHADDOW SELF- (LIVE ONLINE)
60 CPD POINTS
Description