SHADOW
PLAY
A 16-week workshop with
Cliff Bostock, Ph.D.
Michael Saunders, Ph.D
Starts Saturday, June 3, 2006

What causes people to stay in therapy so long and change so little? And what causes them to discontinue it at precisely the moment the therapist believes change may be imminent?

We believe the responsible process is what Carl Jung called the "shadow." The term is often used synonymously with Freud's "unconscious." The shadow contains those aspects of the self that have become disowned. Typically, we think of these as negative qualities (like rage or lying), but they may as often be positive (such as an undeveloped talent).

In Jung's approach, the goal - unlike that of much modern psychotherapy - is awareness, not elimination of the shadow's contents. Confronting the shadow enables us to transform blocked energy into creative energy.   We gain greater command of our lives.

By contrast, people who do not confront the shadow often feel at the mercy of forces outside themselves. (See the section, "What is the Shadow?") Or they abandon therapy just as the shadow begins to present itself.

The SHADOWPLAY Workshop is designed to help people become aware of their shadows in a safe, non-threatening space. It is held in 16 two-hour sessions, usually on Saturdays.

The approach is through imaginal techniques. We are inspired by the myth of Medusa, the snake-haired gorgon who turned anyone who met her eyes to stone. Perseus was only able to slay her by looking at her indirectly, as a reflection in his shield.

Similarly, in imaginal work we approach the shadow indirectly through images which, by their nature, reflect the contents of the shadow. In this way, we avoid being overwhelmed. The image is given concrete expression in a variety of ways, depending on the client's inclination.

We look at the shadow in its particularity to the individual - rather than from a conceptual basis that requires a general interpretation. That is the value of working with images that arise in the individual's own psyche. We don't, for example, say "I'm angry" and then talk about the problem of anger. Instead we produce images that reveal the anger, allow us to experience it, see its form and how we are attached to it.   Cliff Bostock has developed forms of group work that help directly experience the image.

Where do we find these images? They are, in Jung's terms, the very foundation of the psyche. But evoking them is a lost art in our time.   One way we evoke images in SHADOWPLAY is through contemplation of the body, which is regarded as a direct expression of the unconscious. Artists, of course, produce them routinely in their work, even though they may not realize their connection to the body and shadow.

 

Leaders

Facilitators for the workshop are Cliff Bostock (below) and Michael Saunders (left). Bostock holds a master's degree in psychology and a doctorate in depth psychology. He is also a longtime Atlanta editor and writer who pens two weekly columns. He has spent much of the last 10 years developing methods of personal growth that fuse aesthetics and psychology but depart from psychotherapy, which he regards as often ineffectual in its popular forms.

Saunders holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature and a master's degree in German.   He has worked as a corporate trainer and teacher at five colleges. His dissertation, which focuses on images of gay people as monsters in the media, was published by Praeger.

The two combine mutual interests in psychology and works of the imagination. Working together, they approach the client's situation psychologically and educationally.

For more information, contact

MICHAEL SAUNDERS, Ph.D.
srfnturf@bellsouth.net
404-234-5866

____________________

All workshops held in the Grant Park office of
CLIFF BOSTOCK, Ph.D .
403 Milledge Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30312
Phone 404.525.4774
Email grazer@mindsping.com

 

 

 

What is the Shadow?

Whatever in myself that I have rejected, repressed or projected onto other people

The important things about myself that I'm unaware of

The things that make me stumble

The things I can't seem to let go of

The mistakes I keep making over and over

The things I'm most afraid of

What are the symptoms of the Shadow?

Inexplicable things about other people annoy me.

I dwell on what I fear most.

I feel as though something is really missing in my life.

I imagine things about other people that aren't true.

I am over-concerned about what other people think about me.

I long for certain things that always seem out of reach.

I feel as though things just keep happening to me without my meaning for them to happen.

I can't figure out why certain things bother me.

 

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