Shadow work, then, is all about bringing these shadow aspects into conscious awareness so we can live more authentically. As licensed therapist and co-founder of Viva Wellness Jor-El Caraballo, LMHC, previously told mbg, “This [shadow work] is something psychoanalytic theorists (like Jung and Freud) prized as important to maintaining psychological health.”
Therapists and mental health professionals will often take a “Socratic approach” to shadow work by asking patients to explore questions that help them reexamine old stories and beliefs they hold about themselves. “The idea is that a more objective entity (such as a therapist) can help provide an interpretive mirror to the parts of ourselves we have a difficult time seeing and accepting,” Caraballo explains.
While doing shadow work with a trained therapist is certainly beneficial, your journal can also act as a mirror for self-guided work.
The following prompts from holistic psychiatrist Kayse Budd, M.D., and licensed marriage and family therapist Tiana Leeds, M.A., LMFT, are designed to help you shine a light on your own shadow using a pen and paper.