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There has been little research into the association of shame and other self-conscious emotions in bipolar disorder, although there is evidence linking shame to various psychopathologies. Objectives: This research investigates the levels of shame in individuals with bipolar disorder. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to compare 24 individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder to a clinical control group of 18 individuals with unipolar depression, and 23 age-matched non-psychiatric controls on measures of mood (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] and Self Report Manic Inventory [SRMI]) and of self-conscious emotions (Internalized Shame Scale and Test of Self-Conscious Affect). Results: Higher levels of trait shame and lower guilt-proneness were found in the bipolar group. Higher levels of shame-proneness were found in the unipolar group in comparison to the bipolar and control groups. BDI scores positively correlated with trait shame and shame-proneness, and accounted for a large proportion of the variance in these scores. SRMI scores positively correlated with trait (internalized) shame and negatively correlated with guilt-proneness. Conclusions: There was evidence for the presence of shame within bipolar disorder, but this differed to the evidence for shame in individuals with unipolar depression. Clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: • Evidence suggests that cognitive–behavioural therapy is not effective in individuals with bipolar disorder with more than 12 illness episodes. • Shame has been elucidated as a factor is some chronic mental health problems, including depression. • Compassionate mind training has recently been developed to address experience of shame and is designed as an adjunct to cognitive–behavioural approaches. • This paper finds evidence for the presence of shame within bipolar disorder, but with a different manifestation than that found in individuals with depression. • This suggests that clinicians should consider shame as a factor for exploration within therapy, possibly using compassionate mind therapy, and its inclusion may improve on therapeutic outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]