DAVID BEDRICK

David Bedrick, J.D., Dipl. PW is the founder of the Santa Fe Institute for Shame-Based Studies where he teaches therapists, coaches and healers from around the world. He is an adjunct faculty for the Process Work Institute and was on the faculty of the University of Phoenix for eight years.

He is the author of three books: Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology and Revisioning Activism: Bringing Depth, Dialogue, and Diversity to Individual and Social Change. His new book is You Can’t Judge a Body by Its Cover: 17 Women’s Stories of Hunger, Body Shame and Redemption.

David’s UnShaming Story

David Bedrick, J.D., PW Dipl., grew up in family marked by violence. While his father’s brutality was physical and verbal, his mother’s denial and dismissal had its own covert power. This formative context introduced David early to the etiology of shame and instilled an urge to unshame, although it would take many years of study and practice to master this challenge.

David has spent over 30 years studying Jungian psychology and nighttime dreams. He pursued an education in conflict resolution focused on world problems (race, gender, wealth-inequality, anti-Semitism) and eventually went to law school hoping to change the world for the better. Graduating at the top his class, he began helping women and children navigate domestic conflict, divorce, and custody disputes. 

David’s initial foray into understanding family and social dynamics led him to study organizational psychology at the University of Minnesota. That training formed the basis of a twelve-year effort of changing the world by transforming institutions. He consulted with employees of 3M, Honeywell, United Way, the U.S. Navy, and dozens of other companies before furthering his studies by pursuing clinical training in working with individuals and large-scale conflict at the Process Work Institute, an offshoot of the Jung Institute. There, he became a teacher and adjunct faculty. At its sister institutiion in Warsaw, Poland, he taught students about the link between the body and the psyche. 

David also taught classes for eight years at the University of Phoenix in human services (from Clinical Interviewing to Addictions and Diversity), philosophy (Critical Thinking and Ethics), and conflict resolution in a master’s program in business. After a critical mass of female students presented their final papers on their personal struggles with body shame and eating, David began a research project with twenty women who consented to recording several sessions on the issue. His unprecedented findings revealed that shame and self-hatred not only motivated many women to diet, but also prevented them from succeeding at their goal. This work would serve as the foundation for his 2020 book, You Can’t Judge a Body by Its Cover.

In 2009, David moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to begin the formation of what is now the Santa Fe Institute for Shame Based Studies, which offers professional development classes on shame, abuse, and trauma for therapists, coaches and healers as well as courses on shame for personal development.

In 2013, he wrote the book Talking Back to Dr. Phil, which addressed body shame, family violence, and issues of addiction and power. Nikki Giovanni wrote, “At last someone is taking on Dr. Phil with good sense and great humor. Good for Mr. Bedrick to decide to pull off the gloves and have an emotional slugfest with an over-the-high-school bully.”

He next wrote Revisioning Activism, a collection of essays that examined psychology’s role in social activism. Foreword Reviews wrote, “This wide-ranging collection examines topics like racism, …women’s self-esteem…current events…Readers will find comfort in these practical essays that offer hope for those who believe they must suffer silently and alone.” It was a 2016 Foreword Review INDIES Finalist.

His next book, You Can’t Judge a Body by Its Cover, was praised by Publishers Weekly, which stated, “Bedrick celebrates the deep wisdom held in... hearts, minds, and bodies of women in this powerful collection of profiles. This emotional, illuminating discussion will appeal to fans of Brené Brown.”

Bedrick’s writing practice is informed and enhanced by his ongoing roles as a sought-after teacher and vibrant, interactive social media presence. His personal development course Unshamed runs one to two times a year for several years. Most recently, in September 2022, there were 85 enrollments. His course Shame Clinic, a five-week course co-taught with business coach Simone Seoul that taught unshaming techniques to coaches, had 1,618 participants.

David teaches several other programs once a year through the Institute, including Anger Alchemy (which unshames anger); Beyond Shame, Voices of the Body (focusing on the power of somatic experience to unshame); and Dream Tending (on the power of nighttime dreams to offer an unshamed lens). These programs are regularly attended by up to 50 students.

His course Process-Oriented Facilitation, a 12-month certification training, has been running for two years with an 20-student maximum. The fifth cohort of the program, scheduled in February 2023, was full months before.

In 2012, Psychology Today offered Bedrick a blog account after reviewing his first book, Talking Back to Dr. Phil. His posts have now been read by 2.7 million people. He’s also written about unshaming on Huffington Post.