What you'll learn
Gain an introduction to Shame Containment Theory (SCT) and its core ideas about how shame develops and is managed across the lifespan
Understand the six components of SCT and how they interact to shape a person’s internal experience and relational patterns
Explore how shame containment strategies and re-containment strategies operate in everyday life and in therapeutic work.
Learn how to apply SCT as a practical framework in clinical practice to support formulation, reflection, and intervention.
Meet the speaker
Lisa Etherson
Psychosexual therapist - PhD researcher
I am a psychotherapist, sex therapist, clinical supervisor, trainer, and academic researcher with a specialist interest in shame, attachment, and therapeutic practice. My work focuses on Shame Containment Theory (SCT), a framework I have developed through clinical experience and doctoral research to better understand how shame is formed, contained, defended against, and worked with in therapy. Alongside my private practice and training work, I am a PhD researcher. My academic and clinical interests are rooted in the question of how we can work with shame in a way that is both theoretically robust and deeply useful in practice. I speak internationally on shame, SCT, and related therapeutic themes, delivering talks and training for counsellors, psychotherapists, and other helping professionals. My teaching style is reflective, practical, and engaging, with an emphasis on supporting clinicians to think more deeply about shame and its impact across a range of presenting issues.
How shame containment theory can change your practice
This training offers an in-depth introduction to Shame Containment Theory (SCT), a developing framework for understanding how shame forms, is managed, and becomes embedded in our sense of self and relationships. Grounded in clinical experience and doctoral research, SCT provides a new way of thinking about shame that is both theoretically rich and highly relevant to therapeutic practice. The session will explore the core principles of SCT and introduce the ways shame can be understood through an attachment-informed lens. Participants will consider how shame develops in response to relational experiences, how it becomes contained or uncontained, and how people adapt through different shame containment strategies. The training will also examine the impact of shame on self-concept, emotional regulation, interpersonal relating, and patterns of distress. A key focus of the webinar will be on applying SCT in practice. Rather than remaining at the level of theory alone, the session will show how SCT can support clinical thinking, formulation, and therapeutic engagement across a wide range of presenting issues. Attendees will be encouraged to think about shame not simply as an emotion, but as a dynamic process that can shape identity, behaviour, and the therapeutic relationship. The training is designed for counsellors, psychotherapists, and other helping professionals who want to deepen their understanding of shame and develop a more nuanced framework for working with it. Whether you are already familiar with SCT or encountering it for the first time, this session aims to provide a clear and accessible introduction while also offering practical ideas for use in clinical work. There will also be time for discussion and reflection, giving participants an opportunity to consider how SCT relates to their own practice and to explore questions arising from the material. The overall aim is to bridge theory and practice in a way that is thoughtful, clinically useful, and directly applicable to work with clients
Book your spot here.
This is a recorded event. You do not have to attend the live webinar
£80.00