About Healing The Shadow
‘An invitation to explore sides of yourself that you don’t know well or find hard to accept.’
Shadow work invites you to explore the sides of yourself that you might normally struggle to understand or accept – aspects that you fear may emotionally overwhelm you or cause harm to yourself or others. We all have sides of ourselves which cause shame and confusion and they can be the source of much pain and difficulty. Paradoxically the more we try to ignore or hide these sides of ourselves the greater their capacity to disrupt our lives – they can cause relationship rupture, hold us back from going for our goals, sap our energy and stop us from expressing all of who we are. In a Healing The Shadow session you can explore and get to know these sides of yourself and release the emotion which is held there. As you gain conscious control over these aspects of yourself you can discover the hidden value they hold and feel more comfortable and at home in yourself.
‘An embodied process of exploration and emotional healing’
Healing The Shadow uses a variety of techniques involving head, heart, hand and body to create an intense personal process that can produce profound changes in how we experience life, relate to others, operate in the world and feel about ourselves. It offers an embodied process of exploration and emotional healing. The tools have the power to take you straight to the heart of the matter, yet you always have a choice as to how far to go. The whole process is structured around your desired outcome and each new step is determined in consultation with the part of you that knows what is right for you in that moment. This allows you to move safely and effectively to the core of the issue and to transform it at the deepest level.
‘Healing The Shadow combines a variety of techniques’
I have a background as a couples counsellor, shadow work practitioner and body worker. These three passions have combined to create the Healing the Shadow work that I now teach and practice. Each of these three strand is vital to creating a safe, welcoming and transformational space:
- Relationships are core to us as human beings and most of the work I do is in one way or another exploring relationship issues – the risks of intimacy, how we set our boundaries, what we feel shame around, how we can be authentic and still keep ourselves safe, how we can grow and change and still stay connected to others.
- Bodywork holds a key to the unconscious. Strong feelings and and memories which we are unable to integrate get held in our body until such time as we have the support necessary to acknowledge them. Whilst direct touch is only used in full bodywork sessions, all Healing The Shadow work uses techniques which help the client connect to their bodies and explore and integrate what is held there.
- An understanding of Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow is core to all my work. The hidden, unexplored sides of ourselves require a safe and accepting space and skilled and sensitive holding if they are to come out of the shadows and make themselves known. The powerful energy and deep wisdom locked away in these unowned parts of ourselves can be safely released and integrated into our lives bringing about lasting change.
For more detailed information about my therapeutic approach please click here.
For details of the two year training I offer in Healing The Shadow please visit www.htsorganisation.co.uk.
‘People come to this work for many reasons’
People come to this work for many reasons, and I have worked with a wide variety of clients over the years. Amongst other things, people come to work with relationship difficulties, anger issues, grief, anxiety, addictions, stress, fears and phobias, depression, eating disorders, problems at work, authority issues, raising children, managing illness, or as part of their journey to recovery from childhood trauma such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse, abandonment or neglect, educational trauma, bullying at school, boarding school trauma and trauma from growing up affected by violent political conflict, racism or homophobia. I welcome LGBTQ+ and BME people to my practice.
‘We can work together over a period of time’
Individual shadow work sessions last between 2 and 5 hours with the first session usually lasting five hours. (Alternatively we can meet for three two hour sessions.) Further sessions, if required, are tailored in length and frequency to meet the individual requirements of each client. Many people choose to come for regular fortnightly two hour sessions.
Please feel free to call to discuss what you would like from the work. Introductory 90 minute sessions are also available to give you a flavour of the work.
‘People are drawn to this work through different gateways’
The term Healing The Shadow encompasses all the work I do but the emphasis is different depending on whether you come for an individual shadow work session, group work, body work, couples work or authentic communication work. Different people are drawn to this work through different gateways. We can talk together to find the best path for your healing. Often this can be a combination of several elements from individual session, couples work, group workshops, body work and authentic communication work.