Shame is a powerful driver of behaviour that is difficult to understand. It drives violence. It drives defiance. It drives self criticism. It drives depression. It’s deeply entwined with neurodiversity, queerness, addiction, mental illness and any way we believe we are judged as not enough. It’s behind some of our deepest pain.

It’s often invisible, unspoken and unacknowledged. We don’t want to see it. We don’t want to hear it. We don’t want to talk about it. We don’t want it to exist. Shame thrives in the dark.

When we shine a light on shame, when we can begin to see it and welcome it in, we can truly connect to our full human selves. And we have more compassion for other people.

Shame holds gifts for us. The gift of integrity. The gift of vulnerability. The gift of real connection. We can see shame as valuable rather than life-destroying or cringe and let it move us towards life.

The truth is we are all flawed humans. We all make mistakes. And we can learn to be kinder to ourselves and others. When we can name and talk about shame, we can move towards belonging and joy. We don’t have to cut any part of ourselves off to fit in.

In this day workshop, we’re going to use the frameworks of Nonviolent Communication and the shame compass to explore:

* the difference between shame, humiliation, embarrassment and guilt

* how to recognise shame

* how to interrupt a shame spiral

* what helps us move through shame faster

* how shame can be useful

There is no pressure to share anything if you’re not ready. We will lead with a mixture of whole group and small group activities, using resources designed to work for different learning styles.

This is the only NVC training on shame in Australia that we know of. We draw from Liv Larsson’s work, Dr Donald Nathanson and Marshall Rosenberg. Marg is a certified CNVC trainer and Rachel is in the process of certification.

A basic understanding of NVC is required for this workshop. If you haven’t been to one of our trainings before, we recommend that you either attend the Saturday afternoon NVC Basics session or read a small pack of resources that we can send you. If you’re not sure, get in touch and we can clarify what would support you best.

We meet in Hamilton Hill at Kerry Street Community School, Sunday 1st November 2026. Early bird prices end Sat 10th Oct at midnight. Payment plans and concession prices are available.

Let’s shake up shame, like a snow globe, and let it settle into a new peace. Let’s see what we can uncover together.

Contact the host of Shaking Up Shame - Talk Your Peace NVC Workshop