Healing Shame: How to Work with This Powerful, Mysterious Emotion—and Transform It into an Ally

Uncover our most powerful, complex, and misunderstood emotion

Shame. Just the word makes most people uncomfortable, and though we all feel shame, no one likes to acknowledge it. Why? Because shame is the most painful and destructive emotion we experience. It’s also designed to protect us.

In Healing Shame, Sheila Rubin and Dr. Bret Lyon ask the question: What if your shame—that awful, overwhelming emotion—could work for you instead of sabotaging your well-being?

“Shame is at the root of depression, trauma, addiction, eating disorders, and perfectionism,” they teach. “When we go to extremes to keep our vulnerabilities hidden, our very efforts keep us stuck. But when we develop a healthy relationship with this complex emotion, we find freedom and healing.”

An empowering exploration of shame—where it comes from and how we can heal

For almost two decades, Lyon and Rubin have been leading the effort to educate psychotherapists on how to more effectively work with shame. With this new audio program, they make their most important teachings available to everyone. Through six dynamic, practice-filled sessions, you’ll explore topics such as the difference between shame and other difficult emotions, sex and relationships, the body and aging, childhood trauma, and more. Finally, you’ll learn how to have a healthy relationship with shame, cultivating safe boundaries, strength, and resilience.

A married couple who have made peeling back the layers of shame their life’s work, Lyon and Rubin bring great compassion to their teachings. With humor and hope, they’ll help you understand how to transform toxic shame into healthy shame, so you can go from feeling stuck, wrong, and fearful to creative, whole, and empowered.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Why shame is the “magic” emotion—explore the mysterious, transformative nature of shame
• How shame keeps us stuck, making it harder to move on from other difficult emotions and experiences
• Unconscious shame—why this might underlie a host of other symptoms, and how to address our issues at their roots
• Where shame comes from—understand the unique series of events, internal and external, that lead to lasting shame, as well as its inextricable link with trauma
• The ways shame interacts with the most important parts of our lives—sex and relationships, addiction, our bodies, aging, sharing our work with the world, and more
• Working with shame in therapy—guidance for both practitioners and clients
• How to transform toxic shame into healthy shame—understand the evolutionary role of this powerful emotion
• A wealth of tools, practices, and exercises from a variety of therapeutic traditions to help you work with shame in safe, compassionate ways
• Six in-depth audio sessions filled with understanding, insight, and hope for healing