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The Virtue of Depression in the Secret Life of Shame: A Group-Analytic Perspective

Devon Partnership NHS Trust, UK Charles.Montgomery{at}DevonPtnrs.nhs.uk

This article examines the role that shame plays in inducing and maintaining depression; the author proposes that chronic depressed states serve a function of neutralizing the painful awareness of shame. The similarities and differences between shame and guilt are discussed. It is suggested that concealed shame produces a debilitated state of mind in which feelings of rage and revenge are kept in check and blanketed by self-directed anger – depression. In this view depression has both a protective function and is a form of communication. Vignettes from an analytic therapy group illustrate how these themes can be worked with such that group members are enabled to move towards developing a clearer sense of self.

Key Words: depression • shame • guilt • self • social

Group Analysis, Vol. 39, No. 1, 73-85 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0533316406062087


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