Extension Course: Shame and Conflict in Practice
Instructor
April 9 – 30, 2026
Thursdays, 8:30 – 10:00 pm
Pay $210 fee and Register here!
Please note registration will close on April 9 at 2 pm.
6 Contact Hours. 6 CME/CE credits offered. See details below.
Course Description
Dr. Ian Buckingham was formerly President of NYPSI and Director of NYPSI’s Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Program. He is also on the faculty of NYPSI and NYU Medical Center.
Educational Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe the meanings of shame as phenomena and action.
- Describe and critically evaluate the role of affect in compromise formation.
- Evaluate the particular roles of shame in symptom formation and identify psychotherapeutic strategies for working with patients with shame as a particular problem.
Continuing Education Information
New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0317.
Cancellation Policy: Full refund will be granted only if registrant cancels prior to course. Please contact the Administrative Director at
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
I. Shame as an Affect
CLASS 1: April 9, 2026
Freud mentioned Shame in a number of writings which are briefly summarized by Wurmser. A more recent account of affects as understood in Conflict Theory is provided by Brenner in The Mind in Conflict.
REQUIRED READINGS
Brenner, C. (1982). The Mind in Conflict. New York: International Universities Press. (Read Chapters 3 – 5)
Wurmser, L. (1981). The Mask of Shame. United Kingdom: Johns Hopkins University Press. (Read pp. 146-148)
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Freud, S. (1905). Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905). The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume VII (1901-1905): A Case of Hysteria, Three Essays on Sexuality and Other Works, 123-246.
II. The Calamities of Childhood, The Superego and Modern Conflict Theory
CLASS 2: April 16, 2026
Shame and Guilt are fundamental affects in aspects of mental life related to conscience and morality. Their relation to conflict is described by Brenner in The Mind in Conflict. A later paper outlines a view of Modern Conflict Theory.
REQUIRED READINGS
Brenner, C. (1982). The Mind in Conflict. New York: International Universities Press. (Read Chapters 6-8)
Brenner, C. (2008). Aspects of Psychoanalytic Theory: Drives, Defense, and the Pleasure-Unpleasure Principle. Psychoanal Q., 77(3):707-717.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Brenner, C. (1998). Beyond the Ego and the Id Revisited. J. Clin. Psychoanal., 7(1):165-180.
Brenner, C. (2002). Conflict, Compromise Formation, and Structural Theory. Psychoanal Q., 71(3):397-417.
III. Alternative Theories of Shame
CLASS 3: April 23, 2026
Alternative theories of Shame have been expounded by proponents of Self-Psychology and by followers of Melanie Klein. Some writings on these theories will be explored.
REQUIRED READINGS
Morrison, A.P. (1983). Shame, Ideal Self, and Narcissism. Contemp. Psychoanal., 19:295-318.
Steiner, J. (2015). Seeing and Being Seen: Shame in the Clinical Situation. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 96(6):1589-1601.
IV. Shame and Conflict
CLASS 4: April 30, 2026
Papers by Rothstein are employed as the launching pad for a discussion of the roles of Shame and Guilt in current Conflict Theory.
REQUIRED READINGS
Rothstein, A.M. (1994). Shame and the Superego: Clinical and Theoretical Considerations. Psychoanal. St. Child, 49:263-277.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Carr, E.M. (1999). Wounded But Still Walking: One Man’s Effort to Move Out of Shame. Psychoanal. Inq., 19(3):289-308.
Rothstein, A. (1999). Shame Conceived from the Perspective of Compromise Formation Theory. Psychoanal. Inq., 19(3):332-346.
ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS FOR THE COURSE
Weiss, H. (2015). Introduction: The Role of Shame in Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 96(6):1585-1588
Wille, R. (2014). The Shame of Existing: An Extreme form of Shame1. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 95(4):695-717
Wurmser, L. (2015). Mortal Wound, Shame, and Tragic Search: Reflections on Tragic Experience and Tragic Conflicts in History, Literature, and Psychotherapy. Psychoanal. Inq., 35(1):13-39
Schiller, B. (2021) Siblings, sex, and shame: The film Shame (2011). International Journal of Psychoanalysis 102:603-616
Lansky, M. R. (2019) “England Hath Long Been Mad”: Declamatory Outcry and Prescient Dream in Richard III. Psychoanalytic Quarterly 88:377-404
Kilborne, B. (2019) On Dreams, Imaginative Knowing and Not Knowing: Appearance, Identity, and Shame. American Journal of Psychoanalysis 79:1-16