In depth psychology the shadow refers to aspects of the psyche that remain outside conscious identification yet continue to influence behaviour, perception and emotional life. The concept was articulated most clearly by Carl Jung, though closely related ideas appear throughout psychoanalytic theory. The shadow does not refer to “bad” parts of the personality. Rather, it refers to those elements of psychic life that the conscious ego does not recognise as belonging to itself. The formation of...

Your nervous system is not the enemy here Here’s something I’ve learned very clearly as a therapist and as a human being that I thought might be helpful to share. I’ve heard it from many clients when they look back on traumatic relationships or events: “Part of me knew.” They had an ongoing sense of unease, confusion, or anxiety around a person or situation, and at the time they assumed it meant something was wrong with them. Only later did they recognise it as a response to abuse,...

People respond to trauma in very different ways, and therapy has evolved as our understanding has deepened. In the past, it was often assumed that talking in detail about traumatic events was necessary for healing. We now know that revisiting trauma too directly or too soon can overwhelm the nervous system and lead to re-traumatisation. For many people, healing does not require retelling what happened. It may instead involve working with present-day patterns, bodily responses, emotions, or...