Meeting Your Shadow: Art Therapy for the Parts You've Been Hiding
There's a part of you that you keep hidden. Maybe it's the angry part, the messy part, the selfish part, the part that wants things you're "not supposed to" want. The part that doesn't fit the image you've carefully constructed for the world—or even for yourself.
That hidden part? It's called your shadow. And it's not here to destroy you. It's actually waiting to heal you.
As a Creative Arts Therapist practicing somatic art therapy and Jungian shadow work in Brooklyn and throughout New York State, I've witnessed something powerful: when we finally stop running from our shadow and instead create space to meet it—through art, through the body, through compassionate presence—everything begins to shift.
What Is Shadow Work, Really?
Shadow work is a term that comes from Jungian psychology, but if you've spent any time in spiritual or witchy spaces, you've probably heard it thrown around. Here's what it actually means:
Your shadow is made up of all the parts of yourself you've rejected, denied, or hidden away—usually because at some point, you learned these parts weren't acceptable. Maybe you were told you were "too much" or "too sensitive." Maybe your anger wasn't allowed. Maybe your needs made others uncomfortable. So you pushed those parts down, into the unconscious, where they live in the dark.
But here's the thing about shadows: they don't actually disappear. They just operate from the unconscious, showing up in:
Patterns you can't seem to break
Intense reactions to certain people or situations
Self-sabotage right when things start going well
Projection onto others (criticizing in them what you can't accept in yourself)
Physical tension or unexplained symptoms in your body
Creative blocks that feel like walls
Shadow work is the practice of bringing these hidden parts into conscious awareness, meeting them with compassion, and integrating them back into your whole self.
And for creative, highly sensitive people? Art therapy is one of the most powerful ways to do this work.
Why Art Therapy Is Perfect for Shadow Work
Words can only take you so far when you're working with the unconscious. Sometimes you don't even know what's hiding in your shadow until you see it staring back at you from a piece of paper.
Art bypasses the rational mind
Your shadow doesn't speak in neat, logical sentences. It speaks in images, symbols, sensations, and feelings. When you paint, draw, or sculpt, you're accessing the same language your unconscious already uses.
Creating makes it safe to explore
There's something protective about putting your shadow on paper. You can look at it from a distance, work with it, change it, without being overwhelmed by it. The art becomes a container for what's too big to hold inside.
Your body knows what your mind doesn't
As a somatic art therapist, I work with the wisdom of your body. Often, your shadow lives in your tight shoulders, your clenched jaw, your held breath. Art therapy combined with somatic awareness helps you access and release what's been stored in your nervous system.
It honors the nonlinear nature of healing
Shadow work isn't a straight line from "broken" to "healed." It's a spiral, a dance, a process of meeting the same parts at deeper and deeper levels. Art therapy respects this—each piece you create is a snapshot of where you are in this moment, not the final word on who you are.
What Shadow Work Through Art Therapy Looks Like
In our sessions—whether virtual throughout New York State or in-person in Brooklyn—shadow work is always approached with deep respect and gentleness. This isn't about forcing yourself to confront what you're not ready to see. It's about creating a safe enough space that your shadow feels welcomed, not attacked.
We might work with:
Self-portrait exploration
Creating multiple self-portraits: the self you show the world, the self you hide, the self you're becoming. Watching what emerges when you give yourself permission to be messy, ugly, or "bad" on paper.
Dialogue with your shadow
Drawing or painting your shadow as a figure, then letting it speak to you. What does it need? What is it protecting you from? What gifts is it holding that you haven't been able to access?
Body mapping
Creating a visual map of where you hold different emotions, patterns, and shadow material in your body. Sometimes anger lives in your fists, shame in your chest, fear in your belly. We'll give each sensation a color, a shape, a voice.
Parts work through collage
Using Internal Family Systems (IFS) principles, we'll create collages representing different parts of yourself—including the parts you've exiled. Then we'll help these parts come back into relationship with each other and with your compassionate Self.
Shadow box or altar creation
Building a three-dimensional space that honors what you've kept in the dark. This isn't about glorifying harmful behaviors—it's about acknowledging that these parts developed for a reason, and they deserve recognition and healing.
Gestalt empty chair work with art
Embodying your shadow part, speaking as it, and then creating art from its perspective. This practice helps you understand your shadow from the inside, not just as something to be "fixed."
The Somatic Side of Shadow Work
Your shadow doesn't just live in your psyche—it lives in your body. As someone trained in somatic therapy and body-based healing, I pay close attention to:
Where you hold your breath when certain topics come up
The tension that appears in your shoulders when we talk about anger
The way your voice changes when you're speaking from a shadow part
The physical sensations that arise when you're creating
We'll work with these body signals, using movement, breathwork, and art to help your nervous system release what it's been holding. This is especially important for trauma work, where the shadow often contains not just rejected emotions but unprocessed traumatic experiences stored in the body.
Shadow Work for Spiritual, Creative, and Sensitive Souls
If you're someone who reads tarot, tracks the moon phases, identifies as a witch or mystic, or simply feels called to something deeper than surface-level healing, shadow work might feel like coming home.
Many spiritual traditions honor the dark as much as the light—Kali's destruction that clears space for creation, the Dark Moon as a time of rest and introspection, the descent into the underworld as a necessary part of transformation. Shadow work is simply the psychological equivalent of these ancient truths.
Your shadow holds your creative power
Ever notice how your best art comes from the messy, raw, unfiltered places? When you integrate your shadow, you don't lose your creative edge—you reclaim it. The anger you've been suppressing becomes fierce creativity. The sadness you've been avoiding becomes depth and authenticity in your work.
It helps you stop spiritual bypassing
Real healing isn't about being "love and light" all the time. Shadow work keeps you honest, grounded, and whole. It's the difference between performing spirituality and actually living it.
It honors your complexity
As a highly sensitive person, you contain multitudes. You're allowed to be nurturing and angry, soft and fierce, light and dark. Shadow work helps you embrace your full humanity instead of trying to be perfect.
Working with Anxiety, Depression, and the Shadow
Often, anxiety and depression are connected to shadow material. The parts of yourself you've rejected don't just disappear—they create symptoms.
Anxiety might be your shadow's way of saying "There's something you're not dealing with." It's the pressure of keeping everything pushed down, the exhaustion of constant vigilance against your own unacceptable feelings.
Depression might be what happens when you've disconnected from vital parts of yourself—your anger, your desire, your needs. When too much of you is in the shadow, what's left can feel flat, numb, or empty.
Shadow work through art therapy helps you:
Identify what you've been pushing away
Understand why these parts needed to be hidden
Meet them with compassion instead of judgment
Integrate them back into your conscious awareness
Reduce symptoms as your internal world becomes less fragmented
The Integration Process: What Comes After Meeting Your Shadow
Meeting your shadow is the beginning, not the end. The real work is integration—bringing these parts back home to yourself.
This doesn't mean acting on every impulse or becoming the "bad" things you've been afraid of. It means:
Acknowledging without acting out
"Yes, part of me is angry" doesn't mean you have to rage at everyone. It means you stop pretending the anger doesn't exist and instead learn to express it in healthy ways.
Reclaiming disowned qualities
The intensity you were told was "too much" becomes your passion. The sensitivity you were shamed for becomes your superpower. The selfishness you feared becomes healthy self-care.
Reducing projection
When you own your own shadow, you stop seeing it in everyone else. Your relationships become clearer, more authentic, more real.
Accessing wholeness
You no longer need to be perfect because you're finally willing to be whole—all of you, even the messy parts. This is where real self-acceptance lives.
A Practice: Meeting Your Shadow Through Art
Here's a simple practice you can try at home (or we can explore together in session):
Get centered: Take a few deep breaths. Place your hands on your heart and ask: "What part of me am I ready to meet?"
Notice your body: Where do you feel resistance, tightness, or discomfort? This might be where your shadow lives.
Give it form: Without overthinking, let your hands create. Draw, paint, or sculpt what wants to emerge. Don't try to make it "good"—let it be messy, strange, or uncomfortable.
Ask it questions: What does this image want me to know? What is it protecting me from? What gift is it holding?
Thank it: This part has been working hard to keep you safe. Thank it, even if you don't understand it yet.
Close with compassion: Place your hands on your heart again and offer yourself compassion for having the courage to look into your own shadow.
Is Shadow Work Right for You?
Shadow work through art therapy might be calling to you if:
You feel like there are parts of yourself you can't access or express
You're stuck in patterns you can't break no matter how much you "understand" them
You experience intense reactions that feel disproportionate to the situation
You're drawn to depth, mystery, and transformation
You identify as a highly sensitive person, empath, or creative soul
You're navigating anxiety or depression that feels connected to self-rejection
You want to do the real work, not just the comfortable work
Begin Your Shadow Work Journey in Brooklyn or Online in New York
Shadow work isn't easy, but it's some of the most liberating work you'll ever do. When you finally stop running from yourself and instead turn to face your shadow with compassion, everything changes.
I offer somatic art therapy and Jungian shadow work for creative, spiritual, highly sensitive people in Brooklynand throughout New York State. This work is always paced to match your nervous system, always grounded in compassion, always honoring your unique process.
Your shadow isn't your enemy. It's been waiting for you to come home.
Ready to meet the parts of yourself you've been hiding? Book your free consultation to explore how shadow work through art therapy can support your journey to wholeness in New York.
