Service Description

From: Shame, Guilt, & Introjects To: Self-Nurturing Does What Self-Compassion Does Not... Transforming the Torment of Shame Many of the symptoms and difficulties that bring a child into therapy are based on the experience of shame or guilt. Like shame, guilt is an experience of self that emerges in relationships with significant others. This workshop will explore the difference between shame and guilt, as well as the relationship between shame and anger that research has identified. Negative introjects, or judgments about the core self, are the result of the child’s inability to resolve the shameful situation. Shame and guilt are relational, primary affects that are receiving more attention in the psychotherapy literature. The research in the neurosciences and studies in child attachment theory have brought greater interest in the effects of shame on the emotional and psychological development of children and adolescents. Child therapists can better understand many of the symptoms that bring a child into therapy by learning more about healthy shame and guilt. The children in our playrooms, classrooms, and clinical offices are telling us about their shame, and yet, many of us do not recognize these powerful effects, nor do we know how to intervene to prevent a faulty sense of self from prevailing. The work of affect theorists, such as Gershen Kaufman, and neuroscientists, such as Daniel Siegel et al., informs psychotherapy and helps therapists and counselors better shape their clinical practice to strengthen children's sense of self-worth. In this workshop, participants will learn more about this research and specific methods of Gestalt Play Therapy to help their young clients work through shame and guilt toward a fuller sense of self, well-being, and integration. Gestalt play therapy offers a clinical approach that can be used effectively to address these issues. There is a difference between being compassionate towards a hated aspect of self and being able to nurture and even transform a way of being. This workshop will explore this distinction and provide experiential learning opportunities to better prepare participants to bring the process of Self-Nurturing into their clinical work. The self-nurturing process in gestalt therapy supports the relationship with the totality of all aspects of a child's sense of self. ​Date: June 18th - 20th, 2026 Location: Solvang, CA CE: 18 Contact Hours Presenter: Felicia Carroll, LMFT, RPT-S