Tender Feelings: Exploring the Role of Psychotherapy in Understanding the Intersection of Shame and Anti-Immigrant Violence in Ireland
Authors
Smith, Sarah
Issue Date
2026.13.01
Degree
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
Open Access
Abstract
The rise in anti-immigrant violence in Ireland warrants exploration to understand the psyche of perpetrators and inform effective psychotherapeutic intervention. By re-examining psychoanalytic theories of violence, beyond guilt, shame emerges as a potent driver of anti-immigrant violence. The narcissistic pain of chronic shame can fuel aggression towards immigrants, exacerbated by contemporary online humiliation narratives and right-wing, extremist ideologies, transforming rage into contempt, as seen in the Dublin riots of November 2023. Psychotherapists must recognise concealed shame beneath violence alongside experiences of social exclusion, criminality, trauma, prejudice, and an array of complex emotions and psychic defences to work with anti-immigrant violent perpetrators. This dissertation offers a fresh perspective on psychoanalytic theories of violence, highlighting the moral emotions behind contemporary anti-immigrant violence in Ireland.