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THE INNER WORLD OF SHAMING AND ASHAMED: AN OBJECT RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
MICHAEL STADTER

Writing is a relational activity, and it includes two relationships: one between writer and reader and the other between writer and self. The process for me is always a journey through the domains of exhibitionism and shame. I want my work to be seen and for me to be seen as worthwhile (or, if my narcissism is very active, to be seen as inspired and inspiring). But I also fear that Ill be viewed as not having anything to offer or, in a narcissistic mood, as being basically inadequate, defective, and unworthy. Writing an entire chapter on this primitive emotion concentrates those reactions for me and evokes many images of ashamed and shaming patients and of ashamed and shaming therapists, myself included. A frequent semihumorous comment from colleagues, when told about this chapter, is that they could help because they know so much about itpersonally. In this chapter, I describe how object relations theory and technique can inform psychotherapy with patients who struggle with high levels of shame. Too often, writing on shame has centered on a particular theoretical,

I acknowledge the valuable help I received on this chapter from Jane Prelinger, Steven Schulman, Ronald Vande Loo, David Scharff, and the members of my Thursday and Friday supervision groups.

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research, or clinical approach, ignoring or devaluing other perspectives. Although object relations therapy has much to offer, so do other points of view, and I believe the object relations approach can augment and be integrated into other perspectives. NOTES ON THE CONCEPT OF SHAME AND PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY In this chapter, I broadly follow the conceptualization of shame as developed by Lewis (1971) and Tangney and Dearing (2002). I concentrate on patients who have pathologically intense levels of shame rather than on patients with little or no shame (e.g., antisocial, psychopathic, some narcissistic personalities). I focus on the fragmenting, dysfunctional impact of shame but acknowledge that it can have signicant benets as well: hiding of the self when weakened or injured, modesty, social sensitivity, and conformity with social norms (Pines, 1987; Trumbull, 2003). Last, I am impressed, as are many clinicians, with the profoundly physiological aspects of shame in addition to the psychological (e.g., Ashbach, 2003; Beer, 2007; Schore, 1994). It is this physical power that often accounts for the depth of psychological disruption and fragmentation. Trumbull (2003) characterized shame as interpersonal traumatization and noted that the physical and psychological symptoms of ashamed individuals are very similar to the clinical picture of acute stress disorder. Furthermore, she believed that repeated and prolonged patterns of interpersonal traumatization are a major etiological factor in the formation of pathological shameshame that is overwhelming, fragmenting, and seriously damaging to self-esteem and interpersonal functioning. Freud did make a distinction between shame (social anxiety) and guilt (moral anxiety; Spero, 1984), but for much of the history of psychoanalytic theory, guilt was studied extensively while shame received little attention. That changed in the 1970s, especially with the inuence of self psychology and its emphasis on narcissism. Although there are signicant variations in psychoanalytic views of shame, there are some general points. Shame comes not from the superego but from the ego ideal (Ashbach, 2003) or the ideal self (Morrison, 1983; Chapter 1, this volume). In summarizing the differences between the ego ideal and the ideal self, Pines (1987) stated,
The ego-ideal represents the classication of goals, ideals and valuedobject representations which we internalize as a check-list against which to compare ourselves. The ideal-self is the more subjective, less specic and cognitive, sense of self to which we aspire with regard to ideals and standards (pp. 2526).

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Shame targets the whole person, whereas guilt is directed toward a transgression or doing something wrong. Vision seems prominent, literally and symbolically, in the experience of shame (Lewis, 1971; Pines, 1987; Spero, 1984): the shaming eyes, the way others see the self, the way the person views self, and so forth. The developmental importance of the infant and toddler reading the mothers gaze and facial expressions may account for this importance of sight in the shame experience (Schore, 1994). Note throughout this chapter how frequently I reference seeing and being seen. Schore (1994, 2003) advanced a research-based neuropsychoanalytic theory on the genesis of pathological shame states and the mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change. Strong shame states in childhood cause serious, primitive problems in development if the caregiver cant or doesnt adequately promote the development of the childs adaptive affective regulation capacities. The psychotherapy of such individuals, according to Schore (2003), involves attention to dysregulated primitive affects such as shame; close attunement at the nonverbal, emotional level (right-brain functioning); appreciation of the centrality of therapeutic interactive repair; and an emphasis on process, among other factors.

OBJECT RELATIONS OVERVIEW Object relations theory has much in common with other psychoanalytic theories, especially relational structural theories such as self psychology, but no other perspective puts as much emphasis on the human need to depend upon and relate to others. There are various object relations theories, but the one that I use in this chapter is based on the contributions of the British Middle School (Balint, 1968; Fairbairn, 1952, 1958; Guntrip, 1961, 1969; Winnicott, 1958, 1965), contemporary American writers (Bollas, 1987; Ogden, 1989, 1994; Scharff & Scharff, 1998), and my own previous work (Stadter, 1996; Stadter & Scharff, 2000). The foundational premise of object relations theory is that we are social animals who need to depend upon and relate to other humans (Greenberg & Mitchell, 1983; Stadter & Scharff, 2000). Starting at least as early as birth, relating to others generates an unconscious process of cognitiveaffective internalization in which multiple representations of self and other come to form the inner world. (Note that object relations theory has tended to use the terms ego and object rather than self and other. Although the two sets of terms are not totally identical, they are roughly equivalent, and I generally use the more modern terms of self and other. It is important to note that the terms object or other can refer to relationships in the external world or in the internal world.)
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Therefore, the inner world of each of us is made up of numerous internalized pairings of self and other connected by feelings and thoughts. On the one hand, a childs repeated experience of being afraid and then being comforted by a mother causes the internalization of a containing, soothing other in relationship with a contained, safe self. On the other hand, a childs repeated experience of making a mistake and the parent then reacting angrily generates an internalization of an angry, perhaps shaming, other in relationship with an uncontained, inept, perhaps ashamed self. These various pairings in the inner world affect present functioning in three ways: through unconscious projection of the inner world onto external reality, through unconscious choice of other relationships that repeat the inner dramas, and through projective identication. The latter is an unconscious, subtle, nonverbal process of interpersonal cueing whereby one person inuences another person to unconsciously play a role in a drama from their inner world. It has some similarities to the concept of self-fullling prophecy. For more on projective identication, see Stadter (1996) and Scharff (1992). From these very simple building blocks, quite complex and textured patterns of relating to self and others emerge. Object relations therapy emphasizes the following (Stadter & Scharff, 2000):

Each patient is unique, as is the distinctive relationship that develops with a specic therapist at a particular point in time. This emphasis on the uniqueness of the patient is crucial because many shame-ridden patients have found that their individuality and differences were either neglected or even specifically targeted for attack. Examples include a musically interested boy who is shamed by his family for not being a real male or an emotionally expressive girl in a family where there is a stoic prohibition on affective expression. In this sense, psychotherapy with shame-prone individuals is directed toward the whole self. The unconscious repetition of past patterns of relating is a focal point of exploration. For many patients, their inner worlds are closed systems, and interactions with self and others follow automatic, unconscious patterns. As I discuss below, this occurs as a defensive retreat from a too-threatening or neglectful outer world. Object relations therapy aims at freeing patients to have a present and a future that are different from an endlessly repeated past. The therapist studies both transferences and countertransferences to understand the patient and to promote change. In a sense, understanding relating is the way of relating in object relations therapy. The therapist works to be aware of the unconscious forces and patterns driving the patients relationship with
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the therapist (transference) and to be aware of the therapists own feelings and modes of relating in response to the patient (countertransference). This approach holds that the therapists countertransference is frequently a key in understanding patients because it can give the therapist an experiential sample of the patients inner world as well as insight into how the patient affects others outside of the therapy. The therapeutic relationship is fundamental to the healing power of therapy. It is so fundamental that the effectiveness of any technical intervention depends upon the nature and depth of the therapeutic relationship and is secondary to it (Guntrip, 1969).

SHAME AND THE INNER WORLD I next describe some of the more frequent varieties of shaming internal others and shamed selves. It is not exhaustive, and specic self-representations can pair with different, specic object representations. There are many possible combinations. These internalizations can come about at any stage in life but tend to be powerful in childhood development, and many of the examples originated during those years. I use examples of language to illustrate the types, but shamingshamed interactions and representations largely involve tone, body posture, facial expression, eye contact, and other nonlanguage elements. The Shaming Internal Others Direct Shaming Other The direct shaming other is the most obvious, classic shaming other. The other shows displeasure or even disgust (How could you be so thoughtless? You make me sick. What an idiot.). This can, of course, be very painful, but the interaction is at least clear and direct. Exploration of the internalization of this other can be relatively straightforward, with the patient intellectually agreeing that this wasnt a good way to be parented and its not a good way to treat oneself. However, modifying it and letting it go can be very difcult. Indirect Shaming Other Interaction with the indirect shaming other may seem, on the surface, not consciously intended to shame but still does. The other may react with disappointment or sadness. An 18-year-old high school senior opens an envelope and nds that she was rejected by the Ivy League college of her choice.
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She looks at her father, who breaks off eye contact, looks down, sighs, and says, Thats OK [pause] . . . I know youll get into a good school. This is a more complicated internalization because the self is shamed but the other is seen as not shaming and even as being compassionate. The interaction may not even register consciously as noteworthy. Ive frequently seen this in the backgrounds of patients who idealize their parents but have an eerie sense that they themselves are bad and they cant put it into words. The shaming is conveyed more in the unconscious atmosphere of the relationship than in specic interactions. Karen (1992) noted that parents who are insecure about themselves and their roles as limit setters may shame their children through these unconscious, unspoken interactions. The parents ambivalence and discomfort about being rm or their fear that the child wont like them gets communicated indirectly as an unnamed, unconsciously experienced, uneasy interaction that leaves the child having the previously noted eerie sense that something is not OK Maybe Im not OK. Another way that a child can feel indirect shaming is when a parent is very accomplished (e.g., successful, beautiful, wealthy) and the child feels the unspoken expectation to be as successful as the parent. As one of my patients said, both seriously and humorously, I feel so much better since Ive accepted that Im downwardly mobile. Neglectful Shaming Other The two previous types of shaming others involve a negative response by the other. But a nonresponse can also be intensely shaming. When my patient Cynthia was 17, she came to her father in her prom dress and said excitedly, What do you think, Daddy? He looked up from his computer and said, distractedly, You look fine, and then immediately returned to his e-mails. Children desire to be seen as worthwhile or special or simply to be noticed. If they get no response or a very weak one, these interactions can be internalized as a shamed self in response to being invisible to the other. Also, the simple desire to be acknowledged and affirmed can feel shameful, for being too needy. This type of interaction, even more than indirect shaming, may be difficult for the patient to process because its not a presence of something that was shaming; rather, its the felt absence of something desired that was shaming. In Cynthias case, we were able to work with it only after it came up in the transference when she felt that I wasnt responding enough to her and that I didnt really see her for who she was. I invited exploration of this by saying, Youve noted that you think Im helpful to you, but I get the impression that you also feel somethings missing. 50
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Grandiose Shaming Other In their conscious desire to promote positive self-esteem in their children, many parents praise them in an unrealistic, effusive manner and resist giving negative feedback on their problem behavior. At an unconscious narcissistic level, the parents see the child as an extension of themselves, and the child has to be seen as extraordinary or the best for the parents own selfesteem regulation. This can lead the child to feel that simply being ordinary is shameful, and the child is left unprepared for reality. As Karen (1992) stated,
They [the parents] may neglect to teach him good manners, may give him the impression that certain of his obnoxious traits are cute, or may generally assure him that he is the most fantastic child who ever lived. They are unwittingly setting him up for shame. (p. 43)

Another frequent impact of the grandiose shaming other can occur when the person sees the self realistically, as not the brightest, handsomest, or most successful. If the other holds on to the grandiose view, the person feels ignored and not really known. The self is then interacting with a grandiose shaming other who is also a neglectful shamer. Abusive Shaming Other When a child is physically or sexually abused, there are many types of psychological damage (Perry, Pollard, Blakley, Baker, & Vigilante, 1995). Intense shame is frequently one of the injuries. In the case of physical abuse, the abuser is violent, punishing, and physically invasive. It conveys a sense of Youre so bad, you deserve this extreme treatment. In the case of sexual abuse, what is internalized is usually more complex and confusing. The sexual abuser may also be violent, punishing, and physically invasive but also can communicate that the child is special and chosen for the sexual abuse. If the child also feels sexual stimulation, the internalization is even more bewildering. Why should physical and sexual abuse cause shame in the victim? There are a number of reasons. First, the child may have the unconscious question, Why would this person act so outrageously toward me? It must be because Im so bad. This question can be even more complex if the abuser is a parent: Why would my mother, who loves me, be driven to beat me? It must be because Im so terribly bad. The abuser may directly say such things. Second, the abuse may evoke feelings that are shameful. Sexual stimulation and/or some pleasure in being special can feel shameful. Alternatively, the child may hate the abuser and feel ashamed of that. Also, remember that shame is a primitive emotion, and the child likely may not be able to think about it at
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all but may feel a vague sense of badness or defectiveness. Third, many abusers do not feel conscious shame and may therefore act shameless. Through the process of projective identication, the shame reaction of the victim can be intensied as any unconscious shame of the abuser is disavowed and projected into the victim. Self-Shaming Other Children learn how they should relate to themselves not only by the way the parents treat them by also by how the parents treat themselves. In the previous types, children internalize how the other interacts with them. In this type, children take in how parents treat themselves, even if it is very different from the way the parent treats the child. So a father could convey to a son not to push himself too hard in school and to look for a career that makes him happy regardless of the status of the occupation. Yet the son could feel driven to excel if the father was rarely satisfied with his own successes and frequently expressed his own low self-esteem. The Shamed Selves In this section, I discuss six types of states. Three describe the content of shame (i.e., what the person is ashamed of), and three describe the subjectivity of shame (i.e., what shame feels like). Content of Shame What are people ashamed of? Karen (1992) stated that Silvan Tompkins, an early researcher on shame, believed that anything and everything about a person can be the source of shamethe good and the bad, the extraordinary and the ordinary. Therapy work is directed in part at trying to understand and helping to metabolize (process) what is shameful for this unique individual. Three self-states describe the content of shame: the bad shamed self, the defective shamed self, and the successful shamed self. Bad Shamed Self. The bad shamed self is perhaps the self-experience that is most described in the shame literature (e.g., Ashbach, 2003; Morrison, 1989; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). In the classic distinction between shame and guilt, it is the shameful self-experience of I am bad rather than the guilt experience of I did something bad. The badness may be a moral sense of unworthiness, existential badness, a disgust with self, or a nonverbal, vague sense of unworthiness. Leonard, a 30-year-old devout Christian, consulted with me because of a debilitating major depressive episode. He had had a lifelong belief in his fundamental badness that intensied with his depression. He wanted to work 52
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alone and avoid contact with others, as he imagined them seeing him as unworthy. He cognitively knew that he was no worse than the average person and that his faith told him he would be saved. Yet he felt that he was worse than anyone else in the world and that not even Jesus could save him. Interestingly, despite his strong religious beliefs, his shame was not moral but rather existential. He didnt feel bad as a Christian; he felt bad as a person. Much of his shamed self came from his beloved, idealized, but directly shaming father and his neglectful shaming mother. Defective Shamed Self. With the defective shamed self, the content of the shame centers on something lacking in the person. The person feels not enough in the arenas of attractiveness, intelligence, sensitivity, strength, success, maleness, femaleness, and so forth. The list is truly endless as the observed self painfully looks at the ego ideal and feels pathetic and shamefully lacking. Such defect shame is at times evoked by apparently small setbacks, but it also can be the result of a major crisis, such as a divorce or job loss; a traumatic loss of bodily integrity, such as debilitating illness or traumatic injury (e.g., amputation from combat injuries); or the aging process. Successful Shamed Self. It can seem paradoxical, but the experience of being successful, accomplished, and honored can feel shameful. Eva, a 34-yearold administrative director of a humanitarian nonprofit group, was widely regarded in her organization as being indispensable by her colleagues. In therapy, she talked about desperately wanting to avoid a luncheon thanking her for her contributions. She went, was given a generous gift certicate, and was applauded by the group. She described sweating, blushing, not being able to look at them, and hurrying out of the room as soon as she could. We learned in her therapy that these situations evoked great difculty in self-regulation. In her personal history, she experienced much parental grandiose shaming, and she felt that her successes, although substantial, didnt merit the lavish praise accorded her (Im not that good!). At the other end of the self-regulation continuum, success and afrmation overstimulated her, and she felt ooded with pride and fantasies of extraordinary success. She became ashamed of her own grandiosity and feared it getting out of controlan unconscious identication with her grandiose parents. Another variation on a self state of success shame is the shame of being the most successful member of a family. From a traditional analytic standpoint, this type of shame has often been described as oedipal guilt. Kevin, at 50, was the most successful member of his family. Independently wealthy through his own efforts, he was healthy and had a good, stable marriage. By contrast, his siblings and parents were more troubled in the arenas of health, wealth, and relationships. He was dreading the family Thanksgiving dinner. Kevin described his feelings as survivor guilt, but more accurately, he was success shamed. The distinction is as follows: The survivor guilt state of mind is,
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I feel guilty because I survived while others I care about didnt make it. I did something bad. The success shamed state of mind for Kevin was, I am ashamed about who I am in relation to the others I care about. I think an important clinical consideration here is that these situations are frequently seen as simply guilt inducing, but they often also involve the more fundamental self-attack of shame. An additionally painful aspect of this for Kevin was that as he looked into the eyes of his less fortunate family members, he saw them feeling ashamed in comparison with him. For a man who himself has been so sensitive to shame, it is painful to see them viewing him as a shaming other (indirectly shaming). When a person is in a success-shamed state of mind, there are many variations of shame and guilt beyond what was illustrated by Kevins case. For instance, when working with other success-shamed patients, I have often seen them express shame and guilt for not having provided more to help the others who were not doing as well. Subjectivity of Shame What does shame feel like? Described next are three experiences of self: the hyperaroused shamed self, the dissociated shamed self, and the contemptuous shamed self. Hyperaroused Shamed Self. The hyperaroused shamed self feels ooded with overwhelming physical and affective activation. Evas success shame illustrates this state, which includes blushing, hunching the shoulders, shrinking the body, hiding the eyes, covering the face, and avoiding others gaze (Ashbach, 2003). Of course, the hyperaroused state can be extraordinarily painful and even intolerable. Dissociated Shamed Self. Another reaction to intolerable shame is at the other end of the continuum of arousal: dissociation. Indeed, one of the evolutionary benets (and liabilities) of shame is that the person is impelled to hide (Trumbull, 2003). The dissociated shamed self goes into hiding not only from the outside world, but also from the inner world (see Guntrips [1961, 1969] regressed libidinal ego, discussed later in this chapter). This shamed self shuts down, doesnt feel much, and, depending on the intensity of the dissociative state, experiences a strange calm, numbness, hazy thinking, decreased vitality, and depersonalization. An important aspect of this for psychotherapy is that the patient may not look ashamed, may seem especially relaxed, and may not be conscious of shame. This is an example of the fragmenting effects of shame as the patient splits off the intolerable experience and has difculty integrating affect, memory, identity, and consciousness. The shame itself has gone into hiding from both the therapist and the patient. Leslie, 49, a victim of childhood sexual abuse, was describing the events of the week in her session when a sudden shift occurred. I noticed it rather 54
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vaguely and sensed something was different. I asked her, and she said, I just lost you; Im oating and talking to you from the end of a tunnel. It had taken us considerable time to notice these shifts and to be able to think about them together. As we studied what happened in the session, she reported that the change commenced when she remembered an intensely shameful sexual encounter during an affair. As we talked, she shifted to the hyperaroused shamed self. One of the key sequences in the psychotherapy of shame then occurred: She reexperienced and processed the shameful experience, but at a more tolerable intensity and in the presence of a containing, supporting otherher therapist. Repeating this process with her many times over a period of years helped her to become more integrated and to have fewer states of dissociation. Contemptuous Shamed Self. The frequent connection between shame and aggression has been well documented (Reed, 2001; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). The causal connection goes in both directions: People are sometimes overcome with shame over their hostility and aggression, and sometimes aggression is a reaction to feeling shamed. The contemptuous shamed self is a shaming self that has been evoked by an internal shaming other. This self is an example of identication with the aggressor. In other words, the contemptuous shamed self unconsciously identies with the shaming other (identication with the aggressor) and acts contemptuous and shaming. The persons own shame is projected onto the target of the disdain, an external other who is seen as reprehensible and distastefula person worthy of being shamed. The person may not even be aware of shame because the aggressive response has become so automatic and immediate that the shame doesnt register in explicit memory. In the shamingashamed drama, the contemptuous shamed self takes the role of the shamer. Nathan, 32, and I had been meeting for several months in therapy, three times per week. He announced that he was talking with a friend who was in analysis, and they both believed that he should come four times a week. My initial, unspoken, thought was that this might not be a good idea. Nathan had had great difculty with boundaries and limits, and I had concerns that increased frequency might be overstimulating and destabilizing. In any event, I thought we should reect on it. I said to him that maybe this would be useful, but that we should think about it together before we decided. He immediately got angry and said he couldnt understand why I wouldnt say yes right away. He felt consciously angry and contemptuous but unconsciously shamed and rejected. I said that more frequent sessions dont always mean better therapy and that our approach together was to reflect on issues before we act. I also acknowledged that my answers had been upsetting to him, and I wanted to understand that better. Nathan replied that it was obvious why he was angry; he derisively said that I was an incompetent, uptight therapist who
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didnt care about him. He threatened to quit and see another therapist who would jump at the opportunity to work with him. Nathan unconsciously felt shamed and repeated the shaming interaction by contemptuously shaming me. It took us an extended period to work this through.

GUNTRIPS REGRESSED LIBIDINAL EGO: WITHDRAWAL FROM SELF Two early theorists of the British Middle School, Fairbairn (1952, 1958) and Guntrip (1961, 1969), emphasized the key role of schizoid phenomena, and their work has much to offer in considering the inner world of the shamed individual. As I noted earlier, shame rarely found its way into psychoanalytic writing in the 1950s and 1960s, and shame did not specically appear in the writing of these two theorists. However, in their case descriptions, they were often referring to shame when using the terms fear, anxiety, threat, attack, and guilt. Fairbairn (1952) developed a comprehensive object relations theory of personality derived in large measure from the study of the opposite of relationship seeking: schizoid phenomena, or the internal forces that impel the person to withdraw from relationships. Fairbairn and Guntrip used the term schizoid much more broadly than the diagnostic category of schizoid personality disorder in the following ways. First, we all have schizoid tendencies, but in some individuals, these tendencies have become particularly intense and dysfunctional. Second, Fairbairn and Guntrip believed that, actually, schizoid individuals frequently had quite strong dependency needs for others. In such instances, the schizoid style is a defense against how strong such needs are. Third, the withdrawal from the outer world into the inner world may be hidden and not overt. The person may appear interpersonally connected but, actually, is not. Narcissistic personalities, for instance, can seem very connected to others, but internally they feel isolated and empty. Finally, schizoid withdrawal is not viewed as a simple passive withdrawal but instead involves parts of the personality actively attacking (shaming) the self for attempting to relate to others (How could I be so stupid to think that we could have been friends? Im an idiot.). I believe that individuals frequently develop strong schizoid strategies to manage shame. Guntrip (1969) detailed nine schizoid characteristics, and seven are prominent in many shame reactions: introversion, withdrawnness, loss of affect, disturbance in narcissism, loneliness, depersonalization, and regression. The other two, sense of superiority and retreat to self-sufciency, also appear in contemptuous shamed selves. From his work on the primary need to be in relationship and on the opposing schizoid forces of retreat from relationships, Fairbairn (1952) elab56
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orated a theory of the internal world that was fully relational and made up of three selfother paradigmatic pairings in contrast to Freuds idegosuperego (see also Scharff & Scharff, 1998; and Stadter, 1996): 1. The central ego with the ideal object: an internal object relationship between a self that calmly seeks and is satised by a good, responsive other. This part of the personality is the internalization of positive experiences of others in which needs are appropriately met. Dominant affects associated with these interactions include comfort, security, satisfaction, and positive relatedness. 2. The antilibidinal ego with the rejecting object: an internal relationship between an other that is frustrating and rejecting and a self that is attacking of the desire and need for others. This part of the personality develops from negative experiences in which needs are not met in relationships and in which affects of anger, abandonment, and frustration are prominent. Fairbairns rst term for the antilibidinal ego was the internal saboteur, which captures the aspect of a part of the self that attacks and sabotages relationship. 3. The libidinal ego with the exciting object: the self that wants and longs for a close relationship but is unfullled because it is relating to a desired, tantalizing internal other that stimulates need but ultimately frustrates it. This is that part of the personality that has internalized experiences in which hopes and desires have been stimulated but have been, in the end, frustrated. When there are many and/or intense experiences of this type, the subjective states of yearning, disappointment, and unfullled need are very strong. The actual need for others is then often felt to be shameful. Consider this view of the inner world from two perspectives. First, this view describes internal, largely unconscious intrapsychic relationships between parts of self and internal others. Second, it describes types of interpersonal relationship patterns that may be reenacted and unconsciously chosen again and again. So it refers both to the intrapsychic and to the relational. Schizoid individuals, in Fairbairns view, withdraw into this inner world in response to a too-threatening external world, and we certainly see this clinically. Guntrip (1961, 1969), though, believed that the theory didnt adequately explain the schizoid problem. He noted that once the person withdrew into the inner world, there often was still no safety. There was an active attack from parts of the personality (the antilibidinal ego and the rejecting object) on a part of the self (the libidinal ego) that longed for relationships. The inner world itself became too threatening, and he described a further split in the personality with a part of self that retreats from the rest of the inner world.
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He saw this inner retreat as a part of all of us but as especially strong in some individuals. This was his concept of the regressed libidinal ego, a part of the libidinal ego that self-protectively withdraws from even internal selfother relationships. In other words, there are two withdrawals. First, there is the generally observable schizoid withdrawal from the external world of relationships because it is too unsafe. The person then becomes preoccupied with the inner world behaviorally, cognitively, and affectively. The second withdrawal is from the inner world of object relations because it, too, is unsafe, frightening, and, at times, shaming. An individual can escape from the shaming eyes of other people when alone but still feel intense shame from the eyes of his or her own inner world. Escape from that shame requires a second withdrawal. The concept of the regressed ego depicts the predicament of the shamed individual both the outer world and the inner world are threatening, unsafe, and shaming. The withdrawal to the regressed libidinal ego state can function paradoxically both to promote and to impair the health of the individual. Think of it this way: The retreat of the shamed person into the regressed ego state can be a womb, or it can be a tomb. As a womb, it can be a state of isolation and safety. The person can escape from the pain and disorganization of shame and can stabilize and regulate affect and self-esteem. In positive development, the individual recovers and nds enough equilibrium to leave the regressed ego state. The person no longer needs this second withdrawal, can tolerate integration, and can manage the attacks from the various parts of the inner world. But the regressed libidinal ego state can also be a tomb, in that such a profound internal retreat leaves this part of the self inaccessible to the rest of the personality. Also, the person may fear leaving this safe place and may stay concealed from the remainder of the personality and from the external world of relationships. The clinician may see this in patients with very diminished vitality, strong conscious fantasies of withdrawal, unconscious fantasies of return to the womb, dissociation, and depersonalization. What I described earlier as the dissociated shamed self is very similar to Guntrips concept of the regressed libidinal ego. Guntrips (1969) view of psychotherapy was that the regressed libidinal ego needed to be addressed if radical changepersonality changecould occur. He listed three elements of the therapists work: 1. Support the patients ego functioning of everyday life while the deeper issues are being dealt with. This aspect of therapy is supportive psychotherapy. 2. Analyze the internal world of bad object relations and uncover the regressed ego. This includes transference analysis. 3. Provide a safe symbolic womb in the therapy for the regressed libidinal ego as the patient struggles toward growth, vitality, and integration in the personality. 58
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CLINICAL ILLUSTRATION: DONALD The case summary of Donald illustrates the regressed libidinal ego, shame, and work with both in psychotherapy. In the rst session, Donald averted his eyes, blushed, and in a nervous voice said he was feeling hopelessly inadequate with women. Over time, this narcissistic, shame-prone lawyer of 27 revealed two patterns of failure with women. He often would choose unattainable women and then feel rejected by them. His self states were a defective shamed self and, sometimes, an existentially bad shamed self. In a less frequent pattern, he would nd a woman who wanted the relationship to continue. However, soon after Donald felt secure with her, he would begin to feel that she wasnt good enough for him, and he would end the relationship. His subsequent self states were a contemptuous self that was hostile toward the woman and eventually a defective self that judged that he had been stupid to waste his time on such an obviously pitiful relationship. Following both types of endings, he would retreat from women, not dating for several months. During these times he would also have brief periods of depersonalization and panic attacks. His history revealed a number of interpersonal traumatizations (Trumbull, 2003), especially from his father. Donald described his father as a highly respected lawyer, a proud man who ruled the family and set exceptionally high standards. Their Jewish heritage and religion were central in the family life, and Donald was pleased to be a part of such a special family. However, he recounted many instances of his father directly shaming him and how he managed it. For example, when Donald was 10, he had a play date at his house with some non-Jewish friends. His father overheard him using a Hebrew phrase with the friends and said, derisively, in front of the friends, Donalds acting like a big man. He thinks hes the Rabbi. Donald felt overwhelming shame, left his friends for an indeterminate period of time, and literally retreated into a closet in the house. He burrowed into the warm soft clothing and felt safe in the darkness. He focused on his bodily sensations, trying not to think very much. He shifted from a hyperaroused self to a dissociated self. Eventually, his shame diminished, and he felt that he could rejoin his friends. He made up an excuse for his absence and resumed his play. This was a frequent way that he managed his ashamed self. In the family, Donald reported, they were so accustomed to him frequently retreating for a time that when he returned from the closet nothing was mentioned. It was partly helpful that they didnt further shame him on his return, but they also made no effort to provide interpersonal support in handling his shame (neglectful shaming others). The hiding in the closet was an external equivalent of his regressed libidinal ego. We also saw evidence of it in his need for a few months break from dating following a breakup until he could adequately self-regulate. During those months, his vitality was low, and he frequently commented that he felt detached (a
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dissociated shamed self). He was out of contact not only with women but also with a part of himself. His 3-year, twice-weekly therapy involved several repetitions of a fourstage cycle. Donald would rst idealize me, feel very close to me, and see us both as special individuals. This would give way to the next phase in which he still idealized me, but now the high regard he had for me caused him to feel inadequate by comparison (indirect shaming other/defective shamed self). He also had felt inadequate by comparing himself with his father (indirect shaming other/defective shamed self) in addition to the direct shaming he suffered at his fathers hands. Third, as yet another romantic relationship failed, he came to see me as an inadequate therapist, complained that I couldnt help him, and stated that coming to therapy reminded him that he was hopelessly awed in relationships. He painfully felt a hyperaroused, defective self. During this phase, his distress was intensied because he felt ashamed of having to be in therapy, of disappointing me, and of failing at even a therapy relationship. In other words, he experienced therapy and me as indirectly shaming him. It is noteworthy that Donald did not stop therapy in this phase of the cycle. However, in the fourth phase, he did distance himself from me, women, and himself with a retreat into his regressed libidinal ego state. The therapy seemed to me to be rather superficial during this fourth phase in the cycle, and I wondered whether we were actually doing any work. It was signicant, though, that he did continue the sessions and maintain contact with me while in the dissociated shamed state. Still, much of Donald was not available to me or the therapeutic process. He had retreated into the regressed libidinal ego state. We went through several repetitions of this cycle, and, of course, the therapy was more messy than this simple outline would suggest. For his part, Donald maintained consistent attendance even when he felt ashamed of coming to therapy (hyperaroused defective shamed self) and even when he was not emotionally available, having retreated into his regressed libidinal ego (dissociated shamed self). I worked to be patient during the withdrawn periods and to not push him too hard. I had to manage my countertransference states of feeling ashamed of being an inadequate therapist (my defective shamed self). When possible, we worked together on putting into words the cycle between us and the patterns with romantic relationships. Another key aspect of the therapy was that he gradually came to see that I could be with him in a way that helped to regulate his shame. Unlike his family, Donald came to rely on me to interpersonally help him with the interpersonal traumatization of shame. The dream presented below facilitated that process. I now return to Donalds boyhood retreat into a closet. As noted, this was the external equivalent of his internal retreat into his regressed libidinal ego state. Throughout the therapy, he had many dreams about hiding in 60
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closets. He usually felt safe in the closet and was always aloneuntil the following dream, which he reported about 2 years into the therapy:
Im in the closet again, but its different than its ever been before. Susans in it, too! The closets not peaceful this time. Somebodys coming to attack us. I dont know who. Were trying to clear off shelvesthere are shelves in the closetso we can move. You know, so we can maneuver when they attack us. But shes getting in the way! Shes not helping at all, and Im thinking, oh God! Were going to die! All because of her! Im furious at her, and Im scared shitless. It wakes me up.

At the time Donald had this dream, he had been dating Susan for 4 months. He was feeling secure and accepted by her and was at his characteristic point of thinking that his girlfriend wasnt good enough for him. However, through the therapy, he had been resisting the urge to break up and was trying to reect on what he was feeling. His dream represented him beginning to let his regressed ego reconnect with others (internal and external). However, he was terrified about this intrusion into his womb and feared that his most private self might not survive. We came to understand that the attackers were internal others who would shame him for depending on and being emotionally intimate with Susan. He did persist in the relationship with Susan and was able to be more connected with parts of himself and with other people as well. Donald and Susan eventually married. The dream also represented his struggle around intimacy with me. The Susan in the dream also symbolized me and his fear that some parts of himself would shame him for relying on and being vulnerable with me. The fourstage cycle in the therapy described above was partly about his idealization and subsequent disappointment and partly about expecting that I would shame him as his father, women, and Donald himself had done. In the therapy he had gradually come to realize that I was good enough to continue with and that he was safe enough to bring in deeper, more private material.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY The Basic Setting There has been widespread acknowledgment that seeking therapy and continuing in it frequently induce shame (Karen, 1992; Lewis, 1971; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). However, clinicians often underestimate the potential for shamingshamed experience in the therapy setting. The shame of being in therapy may be hidden for various reasons, including being ashamed of feeling shame. Therapists should try to inquire
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sensitively about it so clients can put into words and thus have the opportunity to regulate the distress together with the therapist (see discussion of Schore, 1994, 2003, below). Attuned therapists try not to aggravate shame but accept that it will emerge and attempt to discuss it when tolerable. To this end, a therapist might observe, Coming to talk to a psychologist for the first time can be difficult for many people. How was it for you? How has todays session felt to you? Youve told me that you dont like to be the center of attention. Whats it been like for us to focus so much on you each week? The very act of interpretation can be shaming (Spero, 1984). Patients may experience the interpretation process as either direct or indirect shaming. As Spero (1984) noted, The shame personality, however, has too often experienced during early development intrusive shaming objects who, with insights expressed during shaming tirades, appear inescapably omniscient and uncovering, second-guessing the self at every turn and destroying inner privacy (pp. 275276). The uncovering process of interpretative work can, therefore, feel like an intrusive shaming reenactment, implying inadequacy and lack of awareness or intelligence. Interpretations presented in a style conveying lack of certainty but also an invitation to explore can reduce this (e.g., Im not sure of this, but I had a sense that your daughters comment hurt you more than you might have thought. Is there anything to that impression of mine?). Also, therapists can be experienced as neglectful shamers when interpretations are off the mark and the patient feels not really seen. Therapists can be perceived as shamers through other interventions as well. Examples include when the patient is feeling like a diagnostic category, like the target of a cookbook approach, or as merely the therapists 3 p.m. Monday appointment. This is not to say that such reactions are avoidable, and, indeed, they can be a key part of transference analysis. It does suggest that interpretation, diagnosis, and other interventions should be done in a manner that promotes collaboration rather than situations in which the expert therapist holds forth and is in total control. Small, unconscious elements of the therapists style can be needlessly shaming and may require self-examination by therapists and/or discussion with patients. For instance, a patient told me that she felt compassionately understood in the sessions. However, she felt insignificant and ignored when she would ask to reschedule an appointment and I would leave a message about a possible time in a hurried, impatient, administrative tone. Although her response was multidetermined and had many transferential elements, I do think that my calls to her and other patients often had that tone. I have tried since then to be more aware and focused when making such calls. 62
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Countertransference Throughout this chapter, I have sought to emphasize the importance of the therapists internal responses. As noted earlier, awareness and use of countertransference are key elements of the object relations approach described here (Scharff & Scharff, 1998; Stadter, 1996), and I view them as essential in managing the therapists affective states, in directing interventions, and in deeply understanding the patient, cognitively and affectively. Sometimes the therapists internal responses are the only way for the therapist to sense split off parts of the patients inner world (Bollas, 1987). In this way, the therapist can tune in to the deeply unconscious, nonverbal, implicit aspects of a patient even though he or she may not know what to make of these responses for an extended period of time. These countertransference responses may be the rst impressions gleaned of the patients regressed libidinal ego. In relating intimately with a shame-prone person, therapists will be vulnerable to powerful states of being ashamed, of shaming, and of feeling contemptuous themselves. Thus, they are vulnerable to countertransference enactments, unconsciously playing a role in the patients inner drama (e.g., the therapist unconsciously acting like the patients indirectly shaming mother). In a sense, then, shame can be contagious and can distort therapists self-concept and equilibrium. Therapists working intimately with shame-prone patients must understand, bear with, and make constructive use of these states. Patients with strong shame issues may powerfully shame their therapists. Ashbach (2003) stated that the experience of working with a shame-based individual frequently involves surviving the patients attempts to shame the therapist into submission, or in more extreme cases, shame the therapist out of existence (p. 84). Therapists can be attacked for not understanding, for not being competent, for not being well trained, for not helping enough, for not being experienced, for being too experienced, for the way they dress, for their ofce decor, for being too smart, for not being smart enough, for not being like a previous therapistthe list is endless. The ability of therapists to contain and tolerate these disturbing states of mind without retaliation or retreat creates an environment of safety and invites patients to face and explore their own ashamed and/or contemptuous selves. This permits regressed libidinal ego aspects of the patients self to emerge. To do this effectively, it requires therapists to come to terms with, and develop awareness of, their own ashamed and shaming inner world. Related to the previous point, therapists may be disappointed in the outcome of therapy and with patients limited ability or desire to change. This disappointment could be especially likely when therapist and patient goals differ. The disappointment can be conveyed subtly and not so subtly, and the disappointed therapistdisappointing patient dynamic can be an
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indirect shaming otherdefective shamed self pairing or a self-shaming otherdefective shamed self pairing. Patients, then, depending on their own dynamics, may feel they have let their therapist down. Therapists need to take care that their own narcissistic needs for accomplishment and nurturance dont unconsciously create a shaming dynamic. Other Implications Finally, I emphasize a few additional aspects of the object relations therapy of shame. I am not claiming that these are unique to this approach; there is much in common with other psychodynamically informed therapies. Therapists may be insightful about the various conicts, decits, and repetitive patterns of their patients. However, these issues frequently cannot be explored productively until shame material has been dealt with rst. The concerns may have to do with shame in the therapy process itself or shame outside of the therapy room. A reason why shame may need to be addressed before other issues can be explored is that avoidance of shame can consciously or unconsciously keep topics outside of the therapy process. Sensitive inquiry into what hasnt been discussed or fantasies of what cant be brought into the therapy can open up the therapy space (Ive been reecting on the very signicant topics weve been discussing this past month, and I was wondering if any areas come to mind that we havent talked about. Youve really been pushing yourself to explore topics that are intensely painful. Can you imagine anything that you wouldnt feel you can bring in here?). Such material is often shame laden and in the domain of regressed libidinal ego phenomena. When patients are in a shame-based state, they may be too disrupted to be able to process it. As Zaslav (1998) noted, Thus, it is useful to get into the habit with such patients of carefully reviewing previous sessions for shamed reactions, and to try to accomplish these reviews when the patient appears controlled and emotionally shored up (p. 163). In other words, strike while the iron is cold. For example, Two weeks ago, you were so upset. You hated that you got drunk again and lied about it to your AA group. Maybe we could explore that a bit more today? I previously described connections between shame and contempt. Shame is linked to other states as well, and I would suggest that therapists especially consider possible shame connections with anger, social anxiety, envy, diminished empathy for others, and violence. Shame may be involved when a patient is considering premature termination of therapy. Patients may consciously wish to stop treatment because shame has been stimulated and the patient wants to escape from it by ending therapy. Or the patient may have an unconscious sense of something shame64
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ful about to be touched and wishes to avoid it. I had seen Luis, 52, for about 6 months of weekly therapy concerning a family crisis. Although the crisis had been largely resolved, I was still surprised when he abruptly said he wanted to stop therapy. I acknowledged that the crisis and he were in a good spot but encouraged him to continue for a bit longer and see where we went. In the very next session, he brought up a shameful topic he had never mentioned before, a vague sense that he had been a very bad father (defective shamed self) to his now-grown children. We continued our work. In patients development of more awareness of self-in-relationship, it is often important for them to see that they sometimes unconsciously shame others the way they were shamed. This can be a much more painful realization than the awareness of their own shamed selves but can be explored empathically (e.g., I can appreciate how deeply upset you were with your wife and with her rage at you. Any idea how she may have felt when you called her an awful mother?). A central point of this chapter has been for therapists to be sensitive to patients shame and to not aggravate it. However, therapists should also not automatically avoid it and neglect facing crucial therapy issues. In fact, at times a shaming experience in therapy can be a major catalyst for change. I am not advocating intentionally shaming the patient as a confrontational technique but rather considering that if the patient does feel shamed by the therapist, it can have some positive effects. Earlier in the chapter, I presented Leonard, the 30-year-old devout Christian, as an example of a bad shamed self. Eight months into the twice-weekly therapy, we were looking at his lifelong belief in his fundamental badness, which had intensied with his serious depression. His usual openness with me was absent as he talked about various aspects of himself that were good but was steadfast in being convinced of his badness nonetheless. He felt to me like a rebellious teenager asserting himself through negation. I said to him, My, you are stubborn on this! He looked away and blushed but quickly recovered and continued talking. It was clear that I had shamed him. I suggested that a change had occurred between us, but he denied it and the session ended. I had unconsciously reenacted his experiences with his directly shaming father. He returned for his next session 2 days later and said he had almost not come and had seriously considered terminating. Why should I come here? I can get treated this way by my father back home! he said. Leonard was still upset with me but less so than he was in the previous session. As we processed it, he said that he had realized that there was a difference between his father and me: that I would at least listen to him, whereas his father wouldnt. So he thought hed give me another chance. I said, Im glad youre giving me another chance. Can we look together at what this stirred up and what you felt about me? This proved to be a turning point to some degree in our exploration of his bad shamed self, with him being more open to the possibility that he wasnt intrinsically bad.
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The example of Leonard also illustrates a major way that psychotherapy can heal shame-prone patients. When an ashamedshaming dynamic occurs between a patient and a therapist (and with others), the therapist works to help repair the damage by being able to regulate it together with the patient rather than the patient having to deal with it alone. This is consistent with Schores (1994, 2003) neuropsychoanalytic theory concerning the mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change for such patients. As noted earlier, the psychotherapy of such individuals, according to Schore (2003), involves attention to dysregulated primitive affects such as shame; close attunement at the nonverbal, emotional level; appreciation of the centrality of therapeutic interactive repair; and an emphasis on process.

CONCLUSION Because shame assaults the whole person, psychotherapy will either fail or be quite limited if the patient has not felt seen and valued as a unique person. Therapists must relate to the patients idiom, the unique set of potentials of each particular person. In this sense, the psychotherapy of shame involves the psychotherapy of the whole person. Although I would argue that this is true of all depth psychotherapy, I think it is especially relevant in the treatment of shame. Guntrip (1969) captured the spirit of this object relations approach in the following quote: Only when the therapist nds the person behind the patients defences, and perhaps the patient nds the person behind the therapists defences, does true psychotherapy happen (p. 352). REFERENCES
Ashbach, C. (2003). Persecutory objects, guilt, and shame. In J. S. Scharff & S. A. Tsigounis (Eds.), Self-hatred in psychoanalysis (pp. 6987). New York, NY: BrunnerRoutledge. Balint, M. (1968). The basic fault. London, England: Tavistock. Beer, J. S. (2007). Neural systems for self-conscious emotions and their underlying appraisals. In J. L. Tracy, R. W. Robins, & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research (pp. 567). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Bollas, C. (1987). The shadow of the object. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Fairbairn, W. R. D. (1952). An object relations theory of the personality. New York, NY: Basic Books. Fairbairn, W. R. D. (1958). On the nature and aims of psycho-analytic treatment. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 39, 374385.

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Greenberg, J. R., & Mitchell, S. A. (1983). Object relations in psychoanalytic theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Guntrip, H. (1961). Personality structure and human interaction: The developing synthesis of psychodynamic theory. New York, NY: International Universities Press. Guntrip, H. (1969). Schizoid phenomena, object relations and the self. New York, NY: International Universities Press. Karen, R. (1992). Shame. Atlantic, 269(2), 4070. Lewis, H. B. (1971). Shame and guilt in neurosis. New York, NY: International Universities Press. Morrison, A. P. (1983). Shame, the ideal self, and narcissism. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 19, 295318. Morrison, A. P. (1989). Shame: The underside of narcissism. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press. Ogden, T. H. (1989). The primitive edge of experience. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Ogden, T. H. (1994). Subjects of analysis. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Perry, B. D., Pollard, R. A., Blakley, T. L., Baker, W. L., & Vigilante, D. (1995). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and the use-dependent development of the brain: How states become traits. Infant Mental Health Journal, 16, 271291. doi:10.1002/1097-0355(199524)16:4<271::AID-IMHJ2280160404> 3.0.CO;2-B Pines, M. (1987). Shamewhat psychoanalysis does and does not say. Group Analysis, 20, 1631. doi:10.1177/0533316487201004 Reed, G. S. (2001). Shame/contempt interchanges: A frequent component of the analystpatient interaction. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 49, 269275. doi:10.1177/00030651010490011801 Scharff, J. S. (1992). Projective and introjective identication and the use of the therapists self. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Scharff, J. S., & Scharff, D. E. (1998). Object relations individual therapy. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Schore, A. N. (1994). Affect regulation and the origin of the self: The neurobiology of emotional development. New York, NY: Erlbaum. Schore, A. N. (2003). Affect regulation and the repair of the self. New York, NY: Norton. Spero, M. H. (1984). Shamean object-relational formulation. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 39, 259282. Stadter, M. (1996). Object relations brief therapy: The therapeutic relationship in shortterm work. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Stadter, M., & Scharff, D. E. (2000). Object relations brief therapy. In J. Carlson & L. Sperry (Eds.), Brief therapy with couples and individuals (pp. 191219). Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker & Theisen. Tangney, J. P., & Dearing, R. L. (2002). Shame and guilt. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

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Trumbull, D. (2003). Shame: An acute stress response to interpersonal traumatization. Psychiatry, 66(1), 5364. Winnicott, D. W. (1958). Through paediatrics to psycho-analysis. New York, NY: Basic Books. Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The maturational processes and the facilitating environment. New York, NY: International Universities Press. Zaslav, M. R. (1998). Shame-related states of mind in psychotherapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 7, 154166.

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