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Shame and non‐disclosure: A study of the emotional isolation of people referred for psychotherapy
Author(s) -
MacDonald James,
Morley Ian
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1348/000711201160731
Subject(s) - shame , psychology , interpersonal communication , anticipation (artificial intelligence) , self disclosure , interpersonal relationship , qualitative research , isolation (microbiology) , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , social psychology , social science , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Thirty‐four people referred to an NHS psychotherapy department were given a modified form of Oatley and Duncan's (1992) emotion diary which included questions about whether each recorded emotion had been subsequently disclosed to anyone (for example a partner, friend or professional). One week later the diaries were collected and participants interviewed. Interviews focused, among other things, on reasons for non‐disclosure of recorded emotional experiences and the relationship between shame and non‐disclosure. The results indicated that a majority of the emotional incidents recorded in the diaries were not disclosed (68%). This result contrasts with studies on non‐clinical samples in which only approximately 10% of everyday emotions are kept secret. Qualitative analysis of the interview data revealed that participants appeared to be habitual non‐disclosers of emotional and personal experiences and that non‐disclosure was related to the anticipation of negative interpersonal responses to disclosure (in particular labelling and judging responses) in addition to more self‐critical factors including shame. It is suggested that these results add to the existing literature on shame by illustrating the interpersonal effects of shame in a clinical sample.