Me, others and shame: Students undergoing Gestalt psychotherapy training and the feeling of shame

Abstract

Internalized shame is the feeling that there's "something wrong" with our entire being, that we are unworthy of existence and belonging. Although shame is normally perceived as a solitary kind of pain, it is always relational in nature. Shame always accompanies the learning process in the education of future psychotherapists, as specific methods of experiential learning and quality demands provide fertile ground for shame emerging among the process participants. A more permanent recovery of the feeling of self may only emerge through the experience of another's authentic interest for our inner world and through the feeling of being seen and accepted. The goal of the research is to contribute to the understanding of others' role in the emergence and dynamics of shame in the context of the educational-experiential group. The research comprised 15 students in their 1st, 3rd and 4th year of Gestalt therapy training. We collected data by means of critical incident technique. Two qualitatively different themes emerged through the thematic reflexive analysis: me-that and shame, and me-you and shame. We analysed the findings from two perspectives-the relational paradigm of shame and transformative adult education.