ABSTRACT
The book begins by positing that Western psychological literature on the study of shame has mostly associated this emotion as being harmful or even pathological to a person’s well-being. However, shame is often seen more positively as a human virtue in the East. Notwithstanding, the same dynamics of shame exist in every culture, although they are patterned differently and to varying degrees in different societies. In any case, we need to recognize the centrality of shame as the master emotion of everyday life. There is in fact vast empirical evidence linking shame as the root emotion that causes many of our psychological problems. In other words, if we want to offer a more reparative healing to people contending with a diverse range of psychological issues, we must ultimately trace back and attend to their underlying shame. Despite the rise in shamefulness and shamelessness globally, there are hardly any solid educational modules on addressing shame being taught in the counselling courses offered by the tertiary institutions. This book will meet such a need. Moreover, this book is written as a contribution to therapists who bemoan the fact that shame is notoriously difficult to admit, discuss and treat.
