Blog - Self and Shadow Therapy.

Hello and welcome to Self and Shadow. I'm Joanne — I've worked in the NHS for 18 years and as a therapist for 10. I've also been through significant trauma in my own life. I've been in that dark hole, and as a therapist I beat myself up about it — it shouldn't happen to me. But it did.

This page offers insight from my career and from what I've learned in my own healing. Every article is written from the heart. I truly believe we cannot avoid some of the harsh realities of life — but we can absolutely gain a new perspective and grow into the person we are becoming.

This is not toxic positivity. It is being fully transparent with ourselves and our lives. There is a light to be found — but only when we can hold the past. That doesn't mean the pain disappears. It means we learn skills to cope, and that lessens the pressure and the overwhelm.