Shadow Work Solutions

18/12/2025

When you've pushed through the uncomfortableness of facing your own shadow (the unconscious parts of yourself that you've squashed down for years), here's what you can expect! 🙂

16/12/2025

Jung spoke about the shadow as a key to possibility, highlighting a core idea of his psychology: what we deny or hide within ourselves often holds our greatest potential for growth.

The shadow includes parts of us we have pushed out of awareness—emotions, impulses, needs, talents, or traits that once felt unacceptable or unsafe. While it can contain difficult qualities such as anger, fear, or envy, it also holds positive qualities like confidence, creativity, assertiveness, and vitality that were never fully allowed to develop.

Jung believed that ignoring the shadow keeps us trapped in unconscious patterns, repeating the same behaviours and struggles. When we turn toward it with awareness, we reclaim energy and choice. This is why the shadow “holds the key”: integrating it opens new possibilities for self-understanding, emotional freedom, and authentic living.

For Jung, the shadow is not something to get rid of, but something to recognise and integrate. Once brought into awareness, it becomes a source of insight, strength, and transformation—unlocking doors that were previously closed simply because we could not see them.

14/12/2025

When Carl Jung said that "the shadow is a power for good as well as evil", he was challenging the idea that the shadow is something negative that should be eliminated. Instead, he understood the shadow as a "vital source of psychological energy, creativity, and moral development"— if it is recognised and integrated rather than denied.

Here is what Jung meant, explained simply.

The Shadow Is Not Good or Bad — It Is Unlived Life

For Jung, the shadow contains all the parts of ourselves that we have pushed out of conscious awareness because they were unacceptable, discouraged, feared or misunderstood. This can include:

* Anger
* Desire
* Assertiveness
* Vulnerability
* Creativity
* Power
* Grief
* Ambition

Some of these qualities appear “dark” or socially unacceptable, but many are neutral or even life-giving. in this way, the shadow often holds our unlived potential.

Jung said:

"The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality.”

This means the shadow confronts us with who we really are, not just who we want to believe we are.

In Simple Terms

When Jung said the shadow is a power for good as well as evil, he meant:

Unconscious shadow = destructive behaviour
Conscious shadow = strength, creativity, and wholeness

The shadow only becomes dangerous when it is denied.

Why This Matters

Shadow work is not about becoming “better” or “more positive.” It is about becoming more whole.

As Jung understood it, psychological health does not come from perfection, but from integration—the ability to hold light and dark, strength and vulnerability, morality and instinct, within one conscious personality.

The shadow, once integrated, becomes not an enemy, but a powerful ally in living an authentic and meaningful life.

14/12/2025

Carl Jung's phrase, "Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see," refers to his concept of synchronicity: meaningful coincidences not linked by cause and effect, but by shared meaning. It reveals a deeper connection between the inner psyche and outer world. This article on LinkedIn explains how to understand the universe's underlying patterns, a skill requiring inner vision, not just physical sight.

Carl Jung wrote, “Man cannot live without myth.” By this, he did not mean fantasy or falsehood, but meaning.

08/12/2025

Exciting news! Frog and Scorpion in the Dark Room* is now published!
This compact, powerful book explores the addictive shadow self through rich storytelling and practical insights. Grounded in Jungian psychology and supported by academic and clinical approaches to shadow work, it forms part of the Story Image Therapy (SIT) method—pronounced “sit,” as in taking a moment to pause, reflect, and engage with a symbolic story or image.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Frog-Scorpion.../dp/0987592793

06/12/2025

Coming Soon! Frog and Scorpion in the Dark Room will shortly be live on Amazon! :)

After a series of explosive family conflicts, the Shadows that characters Jack, Emily, Ace and Milly have kept buried erupt with a force that threatens to tear them apart. Jack’s intensity spirals into obsession, Emily’s people-pleasing becomes quiet self-betrayal, Ace escapes into risky thrills, and Milly hides behind masks of perfection. Each behaviour feeds the Dark Room, growing stronger every time they try to outrun the truth.

To survive, they must face the parts of themselves they fear most—and discover that the Shadow Self isn’t the enemy… unless they (and the reader in turn) refuse to look at it.

A gripping, symbolic journey into emotional dependency, family wounds, and the power of conscious change, Frog and Scorpion in the Dark Room reveals what happens when a family steps into the darkness together… and learns how to walk out again.

Perfect for readers of mythic storytelling, Jungian psychology, and transformational fiction.

01/12/2025

The saying, "All that happens is as familiar as roses in spring" is attributed to the Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius. It means that everything that happens in life e.g., war, disease, famine happens as predictably as roses blooming in summer and fruit in summer

27/11/2025

Coming soon! The Shadow Self program (formerly called the SIT Program) by Clinical and Transpersonal psychologist, Dr Toula Gordillo will soon be available on her website www.drtoulagordillo.com

The Shadow Self Program

This program expands on the foundations of Story Image Therapy (SIT®) and SIT Shadow Work™ to offer a transformative pathway for both women and men. The program consists of two complementary courses—Shadow Self Leadership and Shadow Self Mastery—each tailored to the unique ways individuals navigate inner patterns, personal history and life roles.

Shadow Self Leadership

Women as Psychospiritual Leaders through Story Image Therapy
Embrace the Unseen: Unlock Inner Balance

Shadow Self Leadership invites women to explore their inner world with clarity, intuition and compassion. Using symbolic imagery, therapeutic storytelling and SIT-based psychospiritual practices, this course supports women to recognise unconscious patterns, strengthen emotional awareness and lead with authenticity across all areas of life—relationships, family dynamics, work, community and personal meaning.
Trial participants often report feeling more aligned, grounded and empowered, with greater confidence in decision-making and boundary-setting.

Shadow Self Mastery

Men as Psychospiritual Leaders through SIT Shadow Work
Embrace the Unseen: Find Your True North

Shadow Self Mastery supports men to understand and work through the deeper emotional, generational and behavioural patterns that shape their lives. Through SIT Shadow Work™, reflective practices and symbolic exploration, men learn to 'manage' their inner landscape with integrity, steadiness and purpose.
Trial participants frequently describe improvements in emotional clarity, communication, relationships, stress management and a renewed sense of direction—both personally and professionally.

How the Courses Work Together

While each course is tailored to different learning styles and psychological tendencies, both share a common goal: helping individuals face and integrate the unseen aspects of themselves—the Shadow Self.

Shadow Self Leadership focuses on empowering women to lead their lives with psychospiritual insight and emotional intelligence.
Shadow Self Mastery guides men to navigate their inner world with purpose, resilience and soulful awareness.

Together, the courses form a unified program that strengthens self-awareness, emotional balance and meaningful personal change. Whether undertaken individually or as complementary pathways for couples, teams or communities, the Shadow Self Program supports participants to live with greater authenticity, connection and inner coherence—from the inside out.

25/11/2025

Luke Raynham of the Getting Mental podcast interviews Clinical and Jungian psychologist, Dr Toula Gordillo on how she uses symbolic STORIES & IMAGES to help her clients to "Unlock their Unconscious" and break free of self-sabotage and other destructive behaviour. For more information, see www.drtoulagordillo.com

Luke Raynham of the Getting Mental podcast interviews Clinical and Jungian psychologist, Dr Toula Gordillo on how she uses symbolic STORIES & IMAGES to help ...

13/11/2025

The Dream Room in SIT Shadow Work is the part of your inner world where your imagination, intuition, and deeper wisdom live. It’s where symbols, memories, and feelings blend together to send you guidance—often through dreams, daydreams, or sudden insights.

In the Dream Room, your mind shows you what you need to heal or grow, even if you don’t fully understand it at first.

The Dark Room is different. It holds the parts of yourself you avoid—old pain, fears, anger, or experiences you’ve pushed away. Many people feel nervous about entering this space, but it’s where the biggest breakthroughs happen. When you explore the Dark Room gently and honestly, you uncover the beliefs and patterns that have been holding you back.

Together, the Dream Room and the Dark Room show how healing works on two levels:

Dream Room brings you messages, symbols, and insight.
Dark Room brings you truth, honesty, and emotional release.

When you move between both spaces, you begin to understand your shadow, reclaim lost parts of yourself, and step into deeper authenticity and inner strength.

03/11/2025

The Family Shadow Self
Every family carries a shadow self—a mix of unspoken emotions, inherited habits, and unconscious roles passed down through generations. A parent’s control can become a child’s fear of failure; a grandparent’s silence can turn into emotional distance. These patterns repeat until someone becomes aware enough to change them.
The family shadow often appears in everyday struggles: constant tension, guilt-driven giving or pretending everything is fine. It keeps us loyal to the old family story, even when it no longer serves us.
Frog and Scorpion in the Living Room explores how families can bring light to these hidden patterns. In Story Image Therapy (SIT®), the Living Room represents connection—the space where we share truth, set boundaries, and practice empathy.
When we face the family shadow together, we begin to replace guilt and control with understanding and genuine love. Healing doesn’t make a perfect family—it makes a more conscious one.

01/11/2025

The family shadow is how we see ourselves... the patterns and archetypes we identify with as children. Then, as an adult, these become out of balance as we over-identify with them. The result? Our addictive shadow creates all sorts of problems for us as we take on unhealthy roles, behaviours, things we want to escape but don't know how. This is the subject of the upcoming Frog and Scorpion in the Dark Room soon available on Amazon.