[Video] Richard Schwartz on Shame and the Inner Critic

In this short video, Dr. Richard Schwartz — the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS) — explains why shame is rarely a single feeling but rather a multi-part process. He walks through a cycle many of us know from the inside: an inner critic trying to motivate us the only way it learned how, a young part that believes the critic and feels worthless, and another part that rushes in to get us away from that pain, often in ways that only bring more shame.

Get Access to the Full On-Demand Workshop with Dr. Richard Schwartz (1.5 CEs available)

Learn more in the full 90-minute workshop with Dr. Schwartz — including demonstrations and Q&A — in Healing the Wounds of Attachment: IFS Tools for Shame, Perfectionism, and the Inner Critic. Get On-Demand Access for $47 >>

Watch the Full Workshop On-Demand (1.5 CEs available)

In this 90‑minute recorded workshop, Healing the Wounds of Attachment: IFS Tools for Shame, Perfectionism, and the Inner Critic, Dr. Richard Schwartz explores how shame, harsh inner critics, and perfectionism often form as protective responses to early attachment wounds—and how these parts can quietly keep therapy from moving forward.

Using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model,Dr.  Schwartz demonstrates how to slow down and work with these protectors rather than against them. You’ll learn how to recognize when shame-based systems are shaping the therapeutic process, gauge clients’ access to Self energy, and support healing as clients develop trusting Self-to-part relationships that foster safety, connection, and attachment repair.

In this workshop you will:

  • Learn how shame, perfectionism, and the inner critic develop as protective strategies rooted in early attachment experiences
  • Recognize when shame-based parts are contributing to stuckness, emotional avoidance, or harsh self-judgment in therapy
  • Assess whether clients have enough access to Self energy to work safely with attachment wounds
  • Work with inner critics and perfectionistic parts in ways that reduce internal conflict rather than reinforce shame
  • Support attachment repair by helping clients build trusting, compassionate relationships with their protective parts
  • Gain lifetime access to the workshop recording and typed transcript

Get Access for $47 >>

About Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of Internal Family Systems, a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic model that de-pathologizes the multi-part personality. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago, close to his three daughters and his growing number of grandchildren.