The Somatics of Shame
Friday, September 26, 2025
9:30am-11:30pm
(see time breakdown below)
with Craig Penner, LMFT
2 CE credits
Online via Zoom
(link will be sent in confirmation and reminder emails)
in collaboration with Central Coast Chapter
Description
Shame is a complex “dilemma,” holding varied emotions, beliefs and somatic reactions behind dynamics of hiding and disconnecting. It all feels so awful that it makes it hard to self reflect, no less expose shame with others effectively. A compromised ability to self-reflect well is often a hallmark of dynamics that keep us from working through shame. Thus, shame is a developmental inhibitor. We try to live around it, and yet we live with its constrictions, sometimes for our entire lives. There is often a powerful dynamic that prevents certain beliefs and reactive patterns from ever truly being questioned. When this is exposed and addressed first, it can open the door to examining what has never been able to be seen. The physiology of shame can point us to moments of nervous system activation that require sustained awareness to effectively work through - on somatic, emotional and cognitive levels. We need to notice these pivotal points as they arise in order to pace the activation that drives such strong avoidance.
This presentation is designed to help therapists identify dynamics that make shame difficult to approach, including somatic and physiological aspects. A somatic approach facilitates our ability to observe shifts in activation that are not presented verbally. This allows us to pace the work and create collaborative agreements with our clients to address shame in the midst of powerful urges to hide and avoid.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:
- List 2 ways our nervous systems are engaged in shame dynamics.
- Describe 3 challenges for clients in addressing shame.
- Describe how disconnections are a factor in how shame persists.
- Identify 2 advantages of holding a somatic focus when working with shame.
- Explain 3 disconnecting dynamics that are helpful for therapists to pay attention to.
Presenter
Craig Penner, LMFT is a psychotherapist and trainer in private practice in California since 1982, currently in Cambria. He brings a process-oriented approach to therapy, with a strong somatic (body/nervous system) focus, and integrates the use of “bilateral stimulation” from EMDR. He has always believed that we have a natural drive to completion and resolution. This has inspired his commitment to develop “Natural Processing,” which is an integration of ways to utilize our own awareness to facilitate that drive. He has been training therapists in this approach across the US and Canada since 2014, and has led consultations and other trainings for over 25 years.
Other Details
Time: 9:30am-11:30pm
Location: Online via Zoom (link will be sent in confirmation and reminder emails)
Cost:
Non-member $30
Chapter Member $20
Associate Member $15
Student Member $10
For questions, more information, accommodations: contact us at sacramentocamft@gmail.com. You may also contact Programs Co-Chairs Roque Neto at ramorimneto@paloaltou.edu and Iris McAlpin at iris@irismcalpin.com.
This is an introductory, intermediate, and advanced level course. This program will benefit LMFT, LPCC, LEP and LCSW licensees and pre-licensees. Open to all mental health professionals, both members and non-members.
This course meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SVC-CAMFT), provider #62279, is approved by CAMFT to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. SVC-CAMFT maintains the responsibility for the program and all its content.
CE credit will be awarded via email after the completion of the course in exchange for a course evaluation. No CE credits will be awarded to persons not attending the presentation in it's entirety. Partial CE credit will not be awarded.
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