MacDonald, James, Ph.D. (1998) The experience of shame and the emotional isolation of psychotherapy patients. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In a review of research on the relationship between shame and psychopathology it is
suggested that too little attention has been paid to the actual context in which shame is
experienced by people with psychological difficulties. An attempt is then made to link
existing models of pathological shame with recent literature on emotion and it is
suggested that shame associated with psychological disorder is of an enduring script like
nature, termed 'marker shame'. Literature on the relationship between shame and
disclosure is introduced. It is argued that in addition to presenting an opportunity to
investigate the operation of shame in a social context research on the dynamics of
shame and disclosure is important given the central role that emotional disclosure
plays in psychotherapy.
The empirical part of the thesis consists mainly of a diary and interview study
designed to explore the nature of shame in the context of psychotherapy patients'
daily lives and the role of shame in the context of disclosure or non-disclosure of
unpleasant emotional experiences. Quantitative data on the nature, context and
disclosure of shame and the other unpleasant emotional experiences is reported.A
major finding is that the majority of unpleasant emotions experienced by the
participants were not disclosed and that 'marker shame' appeared to play a role in this
non-disclosure. An empirical approach to qualitative data analysis is then introduced
and used to explore the apparent 'emotional isolation' of participants. The findings
again appear to illustrate the operation of 'marker shame'. A qualitative analysis of
participants' accounts of emotions that they did disclose is reported and a shame-related
account of disclosure dynamics is shown to compare favourably with a
number of alternative theoretical accounts of the benefits of disclosure. Qualitative
analysis from a second interview study focusing on significant emotional memories is
presented which appears to replicate most of the earlier findings in a seconds ample of
psychotherapy patients.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Psychotherapy patients, Shame, Self-disclosure
Official Date:	September 1998
Dates:	Date Event September 1998 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Psychology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Morley, Ian E.
Extent:	xvi, 445 leaves
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4243

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