ADVANCED PRACTICES
Working with Chronic Shame
with Stacy Adam Jensen, MEd
About the Offering
Chronic shame is a part of insecure attachment, and is woven into all aspects of a person, from the second year of life, to their present moment. Chronic shame is an unseen hand that has been guiding their life in all areas, from intra and interpersonal relationships, to professional life, to creativity and dreams for the future. The hiding in plain sight nature of chronic shame makes it incredibly difficult to work with clinically, for both client and therapist alike, as the presence of shame activates shame, which can be iatrogenic therapeutically.
In this advanced practices training, we will take a deep and nuanced look at chronic shame, at its many faces and guises, so that we as therapists, can more easily recognize its existence, and see the way that its presence in a client’s life both makes sense as an adaptation to early relational trauma, and see how punishing and debilitating it is in a client’s life.
We will examine the role that therapists own shame and shame reactions and avoidance impact working with chronic shame. We will also explore more nuanced aspects of clients relationships with chronic shame, including, humiliation, disgust, and dissociation.
This advanced practices is open to those clinicians who want to take a deeper dive into this ubiquitous, yet amorphous part of insecure attachment and relational trauma. Applicants will need to have completed at minimum of 15 hours of training in working with chronic shame, as well as training in working with insecure attachment, both from an embodied, right hemisphere orientation–prior learning assessments are necessary and entry will be determined by The Savoy Clinic, Ltd.
This training will offer learning through lecture, dialogue and case vignettes.
Fees & Dates
Stay tuned for 2026 dates
- Applicants will need to have completed at minimum of 15 hours of training in working with chronic shame from an embodied, interpersonal, right hemisphere orientation –prior learning assessments are necessary.
- This will be an online program
Somatic Therapy Trainings FAQ
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy attends to body and both right and left hemispheres to attend to injuries of the body and mind. It has various applications, is profoundly potent in treating trauma - relational, incident, and complex.
How does this orientation differ from Somatic Experiencing (SE)?
The heart of Somatic Attachment Psychotherapy (SAP) is the reparation of attachment injuries. SAP uniquely weaves somatic psychotherapy with attachment theory and application to practice through a psychodynamic, relational lens. In this way, the SAP orientation is distinct from Somatic Experiencing (SE) and other body-based modalities.
Who are these courses intended for?
These courses are intended for psychotherapists seeking to advance and deepen their clinical practice. Participants need a graduate degree in a clinical mental health discipline.
How is this orientation grounded in evidence-based practice?
Somatic Attachment Psychotherapy draws upon diverse research in neuroscience, attachment theory and research, trauma studies, Polyvagal Theory, and Interpersonal Neurobiology. It also draws on the rich psychoanalytic lineage arcing over the past century. Our curriculums integrate these frameworks into clinical application.
What’s the difference between somatic therapy and traditional talk therapy?
Talk therapy primarily engages cognitive and left-hemisphere processes whereas somatic attachment psychotherapy, integrates both right and left hemispheric processes, working directly with the autonomic nervous system, attachment patterning and relational dynamics, affect regulation, mentalization, and embodiment for the reparation of trauma, specifically relational/attachment trauma.
Can I become a somatic therapist through your offerings?
No. Our offerings are for clinicians who have a graduate degree in a clinical mental health discipline. They provide sophisticated and nuanced theoretical, conceptual and application to practice in the areas of somatic practice, attachment repair, and relational practice. Our work is uniquely embodied and relational.