"Shame is an issue at the very heart of the recovery process.” Claudia Black provides the audience an understanding as to why they feel the way they do and she offers them a language to use to describe their experiences.

Using stories, graphics and examples, Claudia explains the difference between Guilt, Embarrassment, and Shame. She will describe how issues ranging from control to perfectionism, depression to compulsivity are aspects of shame - the belief that one is inherently “defective.”

“Guilt,” says Claudia, “is when you make a mistake. Shame is when you believe you are the mistake.”

Throughout this video, Claudia weaves a message of recovery. She concludes:

“Remember that as a child you had so little power to determine how you would react to the world. Your reaction was that of a child, with the vulnerability of a child. You were not bad, you never were and you are not today.”

This video was designed to be used:

• Directly with anyone in a recovery process
• In groups or individually
• In patient and aftercare programs
• By private practitioners and therapists
• By schools and colleges
• In relapse programs
• With adolescent treatment programs
• To better understand young and adult children from troubled families

Running Time: 30 min.

Claudia Black is a Ph.D., a world renowned author, lecturer, and specialist on addiction and family systems.