Psychoanalytic Energy Psychotherapy [PEP] - Dr. Phil Mollon Ph.D.




Healing the Shadow Self
A concept and workshop first presented at the annual conference of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology [ACEP] San Diego 2010







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Healing the Shadow Self
A flyer for Phil Mollon's workshop at the annual conference of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology [ACEP] 2010 San Diego

Healing the Shadow Self

[Phil Mollon ACEP breakout 2010]

To see the powerpoint slides presented at the ACEP conference, click here
 




Extending Jung's original concept, I propose that the shadow self is:
  • Psychological content
  • An archetype
  • An energetic structure

Note that these are speculative hypotheses, embedded within the broader concepts of energy psychology
 
In content, it is a vessel for all that is repudiated from the main personality - including all the 'dark' aspects of the psyche, but also all that is overwhelming and terrifying.
 
In appearance, it may take the form of something ugly, demonic, angry, and destructive. When healed, it can appear very beautiful. For example, one woman pictured her unhealed Shadow Self as a pile of dung and rotting material - after healing, she saw it a beautiful shining diamond that she was happy to take into her stomach as a comforting presence.
 
As an energetic structure, it exists in a reversed parallel dimension. It has its own chakra system, partly connecting with that of the main personality [there are further details too speculative to be stated here]. 
 
  • The Shadow Self is a vessel of disowned and repudiated 'dark' aspects - but energetically it is parasitic on the main Self. In its unhealed state, it pursues its own angry and destructive agenda, wrecking the life of the main Self. It may function as a channel for parasitic energy forms.
 
  • The Shadow may contain what is most repellent to the conscious personality/Self. It may be located, through projective identification, in an other person in the subject's life. This projective identification can be located through muscle testing the statement "there is a part of me that is like that person".
 
  • Some religions may intensify the Shadow Self, through repressing aspects of human nature, particularly in its sexual aspects.
 
  • The Shadow is a necessary vessel to contain the dangerous aspects of Self that cannot yet be integrated.
 
  • In a damaged state, the Shadow Self may be a center of intense energetic reversal – generating pervasive ‘psychological reversal’ and reversals of conscious morality.
 
  • In addition to its accumulation of psychological content (repudiated aspects of the psyche), the Shadow may also be fed by energetic blockages and distortions – such as inherited miasms or acquired damage to the energetic system.
 
  • The Shadow Self can be healed, using ordinary energy psychology modalities. It is necessary to identify the Shadow, ascertain whether it is willing to be healed, correct this as a 'reversal' if necessary, and then work through the meridians and chakras to heal the traumas and fears of the Shadow Self. Sometimes it is also necessary to issue an 'apology' to the Shadow for misusing it as a dumping ground for unwanted psychic contents. Similarly, the Shadow can be ‘thanked’ for bearing the foreclosed aspects of the psyche.
 
  • The Shadow will not be healed through the energy work with the main Self since it is a partially separate structure – just as dissociated parts will not participate in energy healing unless addressed specifically.
 
  • The Shadow can be identified by muscle testing a statement such as "there is a part of me that want to sabotage my life" or "a Shadow Self that ..."
 
  • Once healed, the Shadow can be integrated with the main Self.
 
  • Probably most or all human beings initially have a Shadow Self until it is healed and integrated.
 
  • If the Shadow intrudes or merges with the main Self in an unintegrated state, harmful, or even catastrophic consequences, may ensue. These may include dramatic and unbalanced personality changes, psychosis with destructive voices, obsessive compulsive intrusive thoughts, and sometimes somatic illness.
 
 
Phil Mollon