The relevance of shame in child protection work

Abstract

Shame has been a neglected topic within social work. Whilst other professions such as psychology and psychotherapy have explored the relevance of shame, social work has been slow to respond. This paper argues that shame is of great importance to child protection work. The causes and consequences of shame are explored. It is proposed that the roots of shame lie in the first few years of life and arise as a result of prolonged periods of lack of attunement between the child and his primary carers. The implications for social work and ways of working with shame are discussed. It is argued that shame is omnipresent within child protection work and that without an understanding of shame, social workers are likely to work in ways which further add to a person's sense of shame.

Keywords:

• shame
• guilt
• child protection
• withdrawal
• rage
• dissociation