Shame, doubt and the shameless object

This paper discusses the neglect by psychoanalysis of shame as a cause of distress and breakdown. There is an overview of the shift from the idea of shame as a defence to that of shame as a signal anxiety. There is a discussion of hypotheses about the early origin of shame within a system of stimulus and affect regulation. Embarrassment, humiliation and shame are compared and linked, as is the relation between shame and trauma. The concept of the negative therapeutic reaction as described by Rivière (1936) is re-evaluated by taking account of shame. Normal and pathological shame are compared. Shame is compared with guilt, and shame-persecution is distinguished from guilt-persecution. The significance of the link between shame and doubt is explored. Two concepts are introduced, using clinical material: first, the idea of the ‘reservoir of shame and doubt’ and its importance in manic depression, and second, the idea of the presence of the ‘shameless object’. Copyright © 2005 The British Association of Psychotherapists