Jung in the World | Approaching Shadow Work with Connie Zweig

Sep 3, 2025

Join Connie Zweig, a retired Jungian therapist and author known for her work on shadow work and aging, as she discusses the transformative effects of embracing our darker aspects. The conversation dives into the personal and collective relevance of shadow work, especially for younger generations grappling with trauma. Connie emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in relationships, the spiritual journey of transcending ego, and how shadow work can spark creativity and personal growth, making it a vital practice in modern mental health.

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ANECDOTE

From Anthology To Lifelong Practice

Connie Zweig described how Meeting the Shadow grew from a 1980s anthology into her Jungian analysis path and lifelong work.
She traced personal shifts from political life to meditation, a spiritual community, and eventual individuation that led to her doctoral study.

ADVICE

Sustain Clinician Health Deliberately

Maintain personal spiritual and psychological practices to sustain heavy clinical work over decades.
Seek supervision, choose fitting clients, and take breaks to avoid burnout when doing deep shadow work.

INSIGHT

Shadow Grows With The Ego

Shadow develops alongside ego as rejected feelings, beliefs, and behaviors accumulate silently.
It surfaces as dreams, compulsions, moods, and projections when the unconscious erupts into life.

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Patricia Martin and Connie Zweig discuss the nature of shadow work. Before doing shadow work, we live an unexamined life – overeating, criticizing yourself or your partner, blaming someone, procrastinating – which leads to uncontrollable, self-sabotaging behaviors.

Connie Zweig, PhD is a retired Jungian therapist and author of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow. Her award-winning book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, extends Shadow-work into midlife and beyond and explores aging as a spiritual practice. Her book, Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path: The Dance of Darkness and Light in Our Search for Awakening, extends shadow-work into religion and spirituality. See her new SUBSTACK for livestreams and new writing: shadowworkawareness.com/about.

Books by Connie Zweig:

Patricia Martin, MFA, is the host of Jung in the World. A noted cultural analyst, she applies Jungian theory to her work as a researcher and writer. Author of three books, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and USA Today. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and an MA in cultural studies at the University College, Dublin (honors). In 2018, she completed the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute Chicago where she is a professional affiliate. A scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library, for the last decade she’s been studying the digital culture and its impact on the individuation process. Patricia travels the world giving talks and workshops based on her findings, and has a private consulting practice in Chicago.

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Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
2025-2026 Season Intern: Zoe Kalaw
Music: Peter Demuth