Clinical Population

Objective: Shame is a multi-faceted self-conscious emotion which occurs when one considers themselves to not have fulfilled internalized societal standards and can be viewed as a social, psychological as well as a cultural phenomenon. The current study aimed to explore the lived experience of individuals receiving psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Research Methodology: The study used a qualitative research method and described, in-depth, what shame is and how it’s experienced from the participants' point of view. The participants in the study were nine males and seven females who participated in an in-depth unstructured interview. Data were analyzed based on the seven-step Colaizzi's method. Findings: Based on the findings of this study, eight themes of “physical reactions,” “accompanying emotions,” “making mistakes,” “other,” “being subject to judgment,” “blame,” “annihilation,” and “having a negative view of self,” in addition to three sub-themes of “incompetence,” “worthlessness” and “inadequacy” were common in the lived experience of individuals of shame. The resulting themes were explored and discussed. Conclusion: The findings of this study can be used to develop shame assessment scales considering the Iranian culture and to plan interventions that target these common themes.