Shadow work: what the term means

Shadow work is the practice of noticing and integrating the parts of yourself you’ve pushed out of conscious awareness: traits, impulses, or memories you’ve judged, denied, or disowned. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung named this hidden material the “shadow.” In practice, shadow work usually means journaling, therapy, or guided reflection aimed at bringing that material into view, not one fixed method.

Where does the term come from?

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology, described the shadow as a counterweight to the persona, the face you present to the world. The shadow holds what you’ve rejected as unacceptable, anger, envy, shame, but also, per the Society of Analytical Psychology, buried strengths like creativity that never got permission to develop. Jung laid the concept out fully in his 1951 book, Aion. “Shadow work” itself is a later, popularized label for the ongoing practice of engaging with that material; it isn’t a phrase Jung used.

Is shadow work backed by research?

Not in the way EMDR is. Jungian analysis broadly has some outcome research behind it, but “shadow work” as its own named practice, typically journaling prompts or self-guided reflection, hasn’t been tested in controlled trials, per Medical News Today. It’s a concept and a loose set of exercises, not a standardized, measurable technique. Weigh claims about what it can fix with the same skepticism you’d bring to any unstudied self-help method.

How does this connect to EMDR?

EMDR doesn’t use the word “shadow.” But its own theory, the Adaptive Information Processing model, holds a related idea: present-day reactions often trace back to earlier experience that never fully settled, per EMDRIA. Internal Family Systems sits structurally closer, describing “exiled” parts that carry disowned pain.

Shadow material often surfaces as a negative core belief about yourself. Settling today’s version of that belief is real work on the same root system, even before you address the original material directly.

Is shadow work the same as inner child work?

No. Inner child work focuses on one figure: the earlier, usually childhood, self. Shadow work is broader, covering any disowned trait or impulse at any age, including ones with nothing to do with childhood. The two overlap often in practice but aren’t the same target.

Can you do shadow work on your own?

Gently, yes. Common starting points are journaling prompts and noticing what irritates you in other people, since Jung considered a strong reaction to someone else a clue to disowned material in yourself.

If what surfaces is a specific traumatic memory rather than a trait you dislike, that’s a different situation. Slow down, and consider a licensed therapist instead.

For everyday material, a passing irritation, a trait you’re ready to face, EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, offers bilateral stimulation as a way to settle the emotional charge that kind of reflection can bring up. Try it at app.emease.com.