Stop Reinforcing Shame with this Body Posture
Shame can be harder to shake than fear because we attach meaning to shame. Our bodies use shame as a survival response by keeping us from acting in ways that would alienate us from others or get us exiled from the group.
- Feeling shame about experiencing physical responses, which creates a 'vicious circle' of shame
- Judging ourselves for these experiences, asking, "What does this say about me?"
- Reinforcing other trauma-related schemas such as, "It's not safe to succeed...to be self-assertive...to have needs...to be happy."
How can you help your patients break these automatic shame responses?
One way to do this is by combating shame through the body. Watch as Janina Fisher, Ph.D., shows you how to stop reinforcing shame with body posture.
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Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and former instructor at The Trauma Center, a research and treatment center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known as an expert on the treatment of trauma, Dr. Fisher has also been treating individuals, couples, and families since 1980.
She is past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, Assistant Educational Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of the neurobiological research and newer trauma treatment paradigms into traditional therapeutic modalities.
She is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (2015) and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation (2017) and the forthcoming book, Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma (in press).
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Janina Fisher is an international expert and consultant on Trauma and Dissociation. She is a consultant for Khiron House Clinics and the Massachusetts Department of MH Restraint and Seclusion Initiative. Dr. Fisher receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. Dr. Fisher has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Janina Fisher is on the advisory board for the Trauma Research Foundation. She is a patron of the Bowlby Center.
Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.
Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR.
He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects.
His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.
Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, the Director of the Trauma Center, and the National Complex Trauma Network. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. van der Kolk receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has no relevant non-financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Clare Pain, M.D.: Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Director of Psychological Trauma Program at Mount Sinai Hospital; Co-project Director, Toronto Addis Ababa Psychiatry Project (TAAPP); co-author, Trauma and the Body; co-editor, The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic
Sydney Marshman, OTD, OTR/L, CEAS, CHES, is the founder and occupational therapist with Happy at Home Consulting. In her role as a staff therapist, she identified a significant need for increased community services for older adults and founded Happy at Home in 2020. The practice provides therapy at home to older adults with her team of physical, occupational and speech therapists. Sydney continues to increase access to home safety evaluations throughout the state. Happy at Home presently provides the evidenced-based programs CAPABLE and HARP through collaborations with community partners. She continues to serve in occupational therapy education programs at Drake University OTD program and Indian Hills Community College OTA program.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sydney Marshman has an employment relationship with Happy at Home Counseling, LLC. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sydney Marshman is the president elect of the Iowa Occupational Therapy Association, the Home Modifications Iowa, and is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
