Embracing the Hidden Self: A Deeper Look into Shadow Work
Now Offering 1:1 Shadow Work Sessions Rooted in Somatic, Parts Work, and Neurodivergent Affirming Practices
What if the parts of yourself you try hardest to hide… are the exact pieces calling you toward healing?
What if the traits you’ve been told are too much, too sensitive, too chaotic, or too intense were never your flaws—but fragmented parts of your power?
Welcome to Shadow Work.
What is Shadow Work?
Originally conceptualized by Carl Jung, shadow work is the practice of exploring and integrating the unconscious parts of ourselves that we’ve disowned, suppressed, or hidden in order to belong or survive. These parts often show up as:
Emotional reactions that feel “out of proportion”
Patterns you can’t seem to break, no matter how much insight you have
Inner critics, perfectionism, or deep-seated shame
Burnout, people-pleasing, or emotional numbness
Fear of being “too much” or “not enough”
Shadow work is not about fixing yourself. It’s about coming home to yourself.
Why Shadow Work Matters—Especially for Neurodivergent Folks
As a Neurodivergent-AuDHD professional and parent, I’ve lived the experience of masking, chronic self-monitoring, and internalized shame. Many neurodivergent individuals have adapted to systems that weren’t built for us—often at the cost of self-trust, embodiment, and wholeness.
Shadow work offers a path back to you.
When done through a neuro-affirming lens, it becomes less about confronting our “dark side” and more about reuniting with our lost parts—often the very ones that carry creativity, intuition, passion, and truth.
In our sessions, we don’t label these parts as problems to solve. We get curious. We listen. We build relationships.
What Does a Shadow Work Session Look Like?
This is not traditional talk therapy. These sessions are spacious, embodied, and relational. We might:
Explore your internal landscape using parts work (think: Inner Child, Inner Critic, Protector, Rebel, etc.)
Drop into the body to feel where certain beliefs or patterns live, and offer them compassionate attention
Track patterns of masking, fawning, or fragmentation, and work gently to reintegrate lost or hidden parts
Use creative tools like guided reflection, art, metaphor, or intuitive practices
Always move at your pace—with consent, choice, and safety as core values
Questions to Reflect On:
Let these questions land in your body as much as in your mind:
What aspects of yourself do you find hard to love—or even look at?
When do you feel like you’re performing or managing how you show up?
Are there traits or emotions you’ve learned to suppress to stay safe or accepted?
What part of you is silently asking: “Do I get to take up space just as I am?”
What does wholeness feel like—for you?
Is Shadow Work Right for You?
If you're neurodivergent, highly sensitive, a late-diagnosed adult, or someone moving through a major identity shift… this work is especially for you.
You may be ready if:
You’re feeling disconnected from your body or your sense of self
You’re tired of self-help that just intellectualizes healing
You want a space that honors all of you—grief, rage, joy, resistance, softness
You long for deeper alignment with your values, intuition, and truth
You're curious about your inner world, even if you're scared to look
A Note on Safety and Consent
This isn’t a space that forces healing. It’s one that honors your nervous system, your identities, your thresholds. As someone who works from a trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming lens, I hold space for complexity and nuance—without rushing you toward a tidy “breakthrough.”
There is no “right” way to do shadow work. There is only your way.
Ready to Begin?
If this speaks to something deep inside you, I invite you to schedule a 1:1 Shadow Work session with me.
Together, we’ll create a space where your full self is welcome, including the parts you’ve learned to hide.
You are not too much. You are not broken. You are not alone.
You are whole. Even in the unraveling.
Let’s meet the parts of you waiting to be seen.
Disclaimer: Neurodivergent Consultant, LLC stands committed to neurodiversity, autonomy, and the use of inclusive language. We respectfully acknowledge the preferences of the Neurodivergent Community we serve by choosing to use Identity-First language. For example: "autistic person" vs "person with autism." The articles provided to you by Neurodivergent Consultant, LLC ("We") are for information purposes only. The content reflects the experts' current knowledge and position as of the date posted. The information within the articles should never be considered a substitute for medical or legal advice. Neurodivergent Consultant, LLC and the website are not liable for errors, omissions, losses, injuries, or damages.
