Abstract
A case example is used to describe the phenomenology of shame, its origin in early childhood, and its maintenance in adulthood. Shame is viewed as a defense against an abuse of power in the original infant-caretaker relationship. Healing may be realized through an emotionally corrective relationship based on dialogical Gestalt therapy which emphasizes a horizontal (equal) relationship between therapist and client. Gestalt and dialogic encounter are described in terms of three major characteristics: inclusion, presence, and commitment to the “between.”