Compassion-Based Approaches for Working With Shame Summit 2026 – Free Training for Therapy & Counseling Professionals
Working with shame can become difficult when self-criticism, trauma, relationship pain, vulnerability, or identity-based experiences are all part of the clinical picture.
This three-day online training brings together leading voices in self-compassion, compassion-based therapies, neuroscience, trauma, Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, therapeutic presence, and related approaches to examine shame through several clinical and contemplative lenses.
Across keynote teaching, demonstrations, guided practices, and focused sessions, you can explore how compassion and self-compassion relate to shame while hearing distinct perspectives from Kristin Neff, Christopher Germer, Gabor Maté, Deb Dana, Paul Gilbert, Martha Sweezy, Rick Hanson, Deran Young, and other faculty.
Use the schedule below to identify the sessions most relevant to your work and build a realistic three-day learning plan.
Why Attend Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame
Shame rarely appears in isolation. The three-day curriculum connects it with self-criticism, trauma, relationship repair, vulnerability, body shame, resilience, guilt, and social context, giving mental health professionals several ways to examine the same clinical challenge. The result is a broad educational view rather than a single technique presented as universally appropriate.
Compassion and self-compassion provide the organizing thread. Sessions explore research, therapeutic presence, common obstacles to compassion, and approaches drawn from Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, deep ecology, and other frameworks. Demonstrations and guided practices add an experiential dimension to the teaching.
The faculty includes researchers, psychologists, therapists, authors, and educators whose work has shaped contemporary conversations about self-compassion, shame, trauma, and resilience. You can choose the sessions that best match your clients, setting, and professional interests. The training is educational and is not a substitute for individualized clinical judgment, supervision, or care.
Who Should Attend Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame
This training is especially relevant for mental health professionals and people working in healing roles who want a deeper understanding of shame through compassion-based perspectives. The range of sessions makes it useful for practitioners who encounter self-criticism, trauma, relationship pain, vulnerability, body shame, identity, guilt, or resilience in their work.
It can also serve helping professionals who want to learn how different teachers connect compassion with nervous-system regulation, therapeutic presence, Internal Family Systems, social context, and self-compassion practice. Participants can focus on the sessions that fit their scope, training, and current professional needs.
- Psychologists interested in compassion-based approaches to shame
- Counselors working with self-criticism, vulnerability, regret, or resilience
- Marriage and family therapists exploring shame in relationships
- Social workers supporting clients affected by trauma, identity, or social oppression
- Psychotherapists interested in therapeutic presence and self-compassion
- Coaches, educators, and other professionals working in healing roles
- Practitioners seeking continuing education through the optional CE upgrade
What You’ll Learn During Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame
The training begins with the relationship between shame and compassion, including the role of self-compassion as an antidote to shame. From there, faculty explore how shame can intersect with trauma, self-criticism, relationships, vulnerability, body oppression, guilt, and social context.
You will also encounter several distinct clinical and contemplative lenses. Sessions draw on Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, therapeutic presence, Mindful Self-Compassion, deep ecology, and soulfulness, with selected presentations including demonstrations.
A practical thread runs through the program: how to support clients in developing a less critical and more compassionate relationship with their experience while recognizing common obstacles to compassion. The aim is professional education you can consider within your own training, scope, and clinical setting.
- Research-informed perspectives on shame and compassion
- How shame and trauma can intersect in therapeutic work
- Core ideas for supporting greater self-compassion
- Ways to recognize backdraft to compassion and other common obstacles
- How self-criticism and the inner critic relate to shame
- Polyvagal perspectives on shame and resilience
- How therapeutic presence can support work with shame
- Mindful Self-Compassion perspectives on body oppression and body shame
- Internal Family Systems approaches to shame
- How shame, guilt, racism, sexism, ableism, and social context can enter the therapeutic conversation
Compassion and Self-Compassion as an Antidote to Shame
The training is organized around a central clinical idea: compassion and self-compassion can offer a different way of meeting shame than self-attack, avoidance, or harsh correction. Kristin Neff, PhD and Christopher Germer, PhD open the program with a keynote devoted directly to self-compassion as an antidote to shame.
That lens is then extended through multiple approaches. Gabor Maté connects compassion with trauma and shame; Paul Gilbert examines self-criticism and the inner critic; Deb Dana brings in Polyvagal Theory; Martha Sweezy applies Internal Family Systems; and Shari Geller focuses on therapeutic presence.
The training also attends to obstacles and context. Participants can explore backdraft to compassion, body shame, social oppression, guilt, regret, vulnerability, and resilience rather than treating shame as a single, uniform experience.
- Meet shame with compassion-based inquiry rather than automatic correction
- Differentiate self-compassion from self-criticism and the inner critic
- Consider nervous-system, trauma, relational, and parts-based perspectives
- Recognize social and identity-based contexts that can shape shame
- Use demonstrations and guided practices as learning opportunities
Featured Speakers and What They Cover
The training faculty spans self-compassion research, clinical psychology, trauma, neuroscience, Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, therapeutic presence, resilience, and social context. The sessions below give you several distinct entry points into working with shame.
Self-Compassion, the Inner Critic and Therapeutic Presence
Kristin Neff, PhD, a pioneering self-compassion researcher, and Christopher Germer, PhD, a clinical psychologist, Harvard lecturer, and co-founder of the Mindful Self-Compassion program, present the keynote on self-compassion and shame. Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE, founder of the Compassionate Mind Foundation, explores self-criticism and the inner critic, while Shari Geller, PhD, a clinical psychologist and certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, focuses on therapeutic presence.
Trauma, Nervous-System Regulation and Resilience
Gabor Maté, MD, CM explores compassion as a path for working with trauma and shame. Deb Dana, LCSW, a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute and pioneer of the Rhythm of Regulation® methodology, addresses Polyvagal Theory and shame; Deran Young, LCSW examines shame, vulnerability, and resilience; and Rick Hanson, PhD focuses on shame in relationships, mistakes, regret, and remorse.
Body Shame, Identity, Social Context and Guilt
Sydney Spears, PhD, LCSW explores body oppression and body shame with Mindful Self-Compassion. Kamilah Majied, PhD addresses shame in relation to racism, sexism, and ableism; Shelly Harrell, PhD presents soulfulness as a path to inner strength; and June Tangney, PhD, author of Shame and Guilt, examines the complexities of shame, guilt, and self-compassion.
Internal Family Systems and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
Martha Sweezy, PhD, author of Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt, presents an IFS approach to shame. Jorge Armesto, PhD, C-IAYT and Susie Fairchild, MA explore a self-compassion framework for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy rooted in deep ecology.
Additional training faculty includes Pamela Ayo Yetunde, MA, ThD, a pastoral counselor and author, and Chris Willard, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, author, and consultant.
3-Day Schedule and Daily Themes
The free online airing runs September 16-18, 2026. Each day gathers several related perspectives so you can follow the full program or prioritize the sessions that most closely match your professional interests.
Day 1 – Wednesday, September 16, 2026
- KEYNOTE: Self-Compassion: An Antidote to Shame with Chris Germer, PhD and Kristin Neff, PhD
- Compassion as a Path for Healing Trauma and Shame (includes Demo) with Gabor Maté, MD, CM
- Shame in Relationships: Healing Mistakes, Regret, and Remorse with Rick Hanson, PhD
- Shame, Vulnerability, and Resilience with Deran Young, LCSW
Day 2 – Thursday, September 17, 2026
- Nurturing Resilience: Exploring Polyvagal Theory and Shame in Therapeutic Practice (includes Demo) with Deb Dana, LCSW
- From Self-Criticism to Self-Compassion: Insights on Shame and the Inner Critic (includes Demo) with Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE
- Exploring Body Oppression and Body Shame with Mindful Self-Compassion with Sydney Spears, PhD, LCSW
- Unpacking the Power of Therapeutic Presence: Navigating Shame with Compassion with Shari Geller, PhD
Day 3 – Friday, September 18, 2026
- Self-Compassion in Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Framework Rooted in Deep Ecology with Jorge Armesto, PhD, C-IAYT and Susie Fairchild, MA
- Soulfulness: A Path to Healing Shame and Cultivating Inner Strength with Shelly Harrell, PhD
- Working with Shame through Internal Family Systems (includes Demo) with Martha Sweezy, PhD
- Releasing Shame to Assess and Eliminate Racism, Sexism, and Ableism with Kamilah Majied, PhD
- A Fresh Perspective on Shame and Guilt: Exploring Their Complexities and the Role of Self-Compassion with June Tangney, PhD
Dates, Access, Replays and Where to Watch
Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame is a free online training airing September 16-18, 2026. The program follows the three-day schedule above, with sessions devoted to compassion-based approaches for working with shame.
Check your email after registration for viewing links and schedule updates. Using an email address you check regularly will make the access messages easier to follow during the three-day airing.
Fourteen continuing education credits are available through an optional upgrade for Psychologists, Counselors, MFTs, Social Workers, and others. The CE option is separate from free registration for the online airing.
How to Register for Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame
Click any Register Here For Free button on this page, enter your contact information, and check your email for access details.
How to Get the Most From the Training
A three-day professional training can be easier to use when you decide in advance what you most want to understand. Review the daily themes and choose the sessions that connect most directly with your clients, setting, scope, and current learning goals.
Keep your notes simple enough to revisit. Capture the key idea, the clinical question it raises, and any concept you want to examine further through supervision, consultation, reading, or additional training.
Choose a Primary Learning Thread
- Self-compassion and the inner critic
- Trauma, nervous-system regulation, and resilience
- Therapeutic presence and relationship repair
- Body shame, identity, and social context
- Internal Family Systems or other specific clinical frameworks
Separate Learning From Immediate Application
Some sessions introduce specialized frameworks or topics that may require additional training, supervision, or scope-of-practice consideration. Treat the summit as professional education and evaluate how each idea fits your existing competencies before applying it in practice.
Use Demonstrations as Observation Opportunities
Several sessions include demonstrations. Consider tracking the language, pacing, therapist stance, and client-response patterns you notice rather than trying to reproduce a technique from a single presentation.
About The Awake Network and Center for Mindful Self-Compassion
Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame is co-produced by The Awake Network and the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. The organizations provide the training framework, while the named faculty contribute sessions from their own areas of expertise.
The Awake Network creates ongoing learning and practice experiences rooted in compassion, embodiment, and mindfulness. Its programs include free online summits, live workshops, and deeper learning opportunities for therapists, coaches, educators, helping professionals, and people interested in healing and growth.
The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion focuses on high-quality self-compassion training based on scientific research and established teaching methods. Its work includes resources, training opportunities, program dissemination, collaboration, and a worldwide community of practice.
Together, the two organizations bring a compassion-centered educational context to this three-day program. Guest teachers then expand that foundation through research, clinical frameworks, demonstrations, and practice perspectives on shame.
Reviews and Testimonials
“The ability to hear from the very best of the best in the field for free.”
Optional 14-CE Credit Upgrade
Fourteen CE credits are available for Psychologists, Counselors, MFTs, Social Workers, and others through an optional upgrade.
The three-day online airing remains free to attend. If continuing education credit is relevant to your profession, review the CE upgrade details after registration before deciding whether it fits your needs.
- 14 CE credits available through the optional upgrade
- CE availability includes Psychologists, Counselors, MFTs, Social Workers, and others
- Free registration remains available for the three-day online training
Frequently Asked Questions
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Register for Compassion-Based Approaches for Working with Shame to receive access details for the free three-day online airing.
- Sep 16 - 18 2026
- Ongoing...
- 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Sep 16 - 18 2026
- Time: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
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