ABSTRACT
Practicing mindfulness is a good way for clients to give themselves a better chance at lifetime shame reduction. a first step in becoming more authentic in relationships is learning how to share their emotions with someone close to them. They take comfort in being understood, and they use support to make necessary changes in their lives. Chances to share with our clients the relational sequence of injury, guilt, remorse, and forgiveness within the client therapist relationship. Shame theorists note that shamed clients have an especially destructive, non-empathic self-to-self relationship. Paul Gilbert summarizes studies that find self-criticism to be the major link between relational trauma, depression and anxiety. Three habits of connecting with self are particularly useful in countering the effects of chronic shame: self-compassion, mindfulness, and self-expression. According to relational theories of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, our sense of self comes into being through connection with others.
