A Therapist’s Handbook to Dissolve Shame and Defense Master the Moment

The effort to surmount shame and formidable defenses in psychotherapy can trigger shame and self-doubt in therapists. Susan Warren Warshow offers a user-friendly-guide to help therapists move past common treatment barriers. This unique book avoids jargon and breaks down complex concepts into digestible elements for practical application. The core principles of Dynamic Emotional Focused Therapy (DEFT), a comprehensive treatment approach for demonstrable change, are illustrated with rich and abundant clinical vignettes.

This engaging, often lyrical handbook emphasizes "shame-sensitivity" to create the safety necessary to achieve profound interpersonal connection. Often overlooked in treatment, shame can undermine the entire process. The author explains the "therapeutic transfer of compassion for self," a relational phenomenon that purposefully generates affective expression. She introduces a three-step, robust framework, The Healing Triad, to orient therapists to intervene effectively when the winds of resistance arise. Chapters clarify:

• Why we focus on feelings
• How to identify and move beyond shame and anxiety
• How to transform toxic guilt into reparative actions
• How to disarm defenses while avoiding ruptures

This book is essential reading for both advanced and newly practicing mental health practitioners striving to access the profound emotions in their clients for transformative change.

Introduction: Sitting on Therapeutic Gold 1. Warrior Therapist 2. I Don't Feel Like Feeling 3. Bringing Goals Into Focus 4. Forging a Life-Altering Alliance 5. The Healing Triad: Bypassing Barriers 6. Shame is the Gatekeeper 7. Anxiety: Static on the Airwaves 8. Grappling with Guilt 9. Disarming Defenses DEFTly 10. When the Dam Breaks 11. The People Whisperer

Susan Warren Warshow, LCSW, LMFT, is the founder of the Dynamic Emotion Focused Therapy Institute (DEFT), an international presenter, a faculty member of the ISTDP Institute, and a Certified IEDTA Teacher/Supervisor. She has published several professional journal articles. She treats individuals and couples and offers clinical supervision.

She has presented at the Brief Therapy Conferences, IEDTA biennial international conferences, SEPI and NASW conferences, several Los Angeles County Psychological Association conventions and chapters of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. She has lectured at California State University Northridge, California Graduate Institute, and the California School of Professional Psychology.

Her former employment includes Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Coordinator of Continuing Education at the Department of Psychiatry at Northridge Hospital. At the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, she produced over 100 public presentations on child abuse and neglect in L.A. County and was the media director for L.A.'s first child abuse hotline.