ABSTRACT
The dysfunctional or maladaptive symptoms are generated by the unconscious use of the defence mechanisms to shield against the past memories of unhealthy shame. Therefore, these past shame memories have to be resolved so that there is no more necessity to use those defence mechanisms. It is emphasized that because these memories reside in the unconscious, cognitive efforts at the level of conscious awareness will not be effective and therapy must target at bringing about changes in the unconscious. Neuroscience tells us that memories are formed by the reactivation of a specific group of nerve cells called neurons through the persistent changes in the strength of connections between them. Thus, the way to get rid of the past toxic shame memories is to create healthy reparative memories out of those same past shame events so that there are alternative routes for the synapses to travel on when shame is triggered. Neuroscience has also found that mental imagery can change our multisensory perceptions without reliving those events in real life. In other words, our imagination can create reality at the neuronal level through shame memory reframing using imagery. The effective use of “experiencing” and symbolic acts can enhance the outcome.
