Abstract
Carl Gustav Jung changed the way of thinking about the person, the conscious and the unconscious. According to Jung, every person carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the denser it is. Shame is viewed as an intense, “soul eating” emotion which can impact negatively on the individual. Caroline Myss has developed a therapeutical concept to work with Jung’s archetypes in individual therapy from a positive psychology perspective. The question addressed in this chapter is how shame can be transformed from shadow into light, from the unconscious into consciousness. The aim of this chapter is to present a selected single case study on a therapeutical process working with shame, shadow and archetypal psychology in an individual and group process. Findings show that shame can be transformed through therapeutical work from a “soul eating” into a “soul feeding” emotion.
Open your heart and listen
to what your dreams tell you.
Follow those dreams,
because only a person
who is not ashamed
can manifest the glory of God.
(Coelho 1992, 138)
Shame is a soul eating emotion. Shame is one of the scars of trauma, but shame shrinks as healing grows.
C.G. Jung
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Notes
- 1.
See the Chap. 11 of Mrigaya Sinha in this book.
- 2.
The name has been changed to ensure anonymity and confidentiality.
- 3.
This relates to all the information provided during the group sessions with regard to archetypes, shadow work and astrology. The information referring to these aspects in the findings is all based on the participant observation and field notes from the group process as well as on information taken from collateral talks and interviews. Therefore, it might not be objectively correct when compared with the original sources provided above.
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Mayer, CH. (2017). Shame—“A Soul Feeding Emotion”: Archetypal Work and the Transformation of the Shadow of Shame in a Group Development Process. In: Vanderheiden, E., Mayer, CH. (eds) The Value of Shame. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53100-7_12
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