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Body as Shadow: Jung’s Method of Embodied Healing

Author(s) : Erica Lorentz

Reviews and Endorsements

In her compelling new book, Erica Lorentz has provided us with both a practical and theoretically grounded approach to working with what she calls “embodied active imagination.” Beginning her book with an illuminating review of Jung’s own attention to what he called the “somatic unconscious” or “subtle body,” Lorentz shows how the simple inward-directed attention to an emotion, a sensation, or a symptom – all resident in the body – can ignite the imagination and restore the healing connection between childhood trauma and the psyche’s archetypal depths.
Those of us who work in the trauma field know that one cannot access the original wounds of our patients, or the intensity of the original emotional experience itself (where potential healing energies lie), through left-hemispheric interpretations or verbal insight alone. For this we need what Lorentz (citing Janet Adler) calls the “grace of direct experience.” Her many case studies demonstrate the ways in which “embodied active imagination,” carefully applied within the context of a secure therapeutic relationship, can access such direct experience and lead to the healing of those dissociative splits that have resulted from early unremembered trauma. Reading her book has already increased my understanding of the wounded psyche and the methods that best lead to its healing. I highly recommend this book.
Donald Kalsched, author of The Inner World of Trauma and Trauma and the Soul

Erica Lorentz has written a truly wonder-full book, one that should be essential reading for anyone training to be a therapist or Jungian analyst. Lorentz’s book provides the missing understanding of the importance of the body and its relation to the soul. It rescues Jung's insights from oblivion and shows how his process of individuation works. And how alchemy working in the depths of our being, can bring about miraculous healing.
Anne Baring, PhD, Jungian Analyst (IAAP), author of Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul

In this beautifully written book, Erica Lorentz speaks to the need for listening to the “sensual authority” of the body, inviting us on a remarkable transformational journey. While I have not personally experienced the embodied active Imagination process or the Authentic Movement modality, the many fascinating examples the author gives of her own and her clients’ experiences could just as easily have come from the practice of Holotropic Breathwork®, with which I have been involved for over thirty-five years. Essential to both modalities: allowing the process/energy to move through the body; opening to the power and importance of the archetypal world; and facilitator presence as non-directive witness. This book touched me deeply and I recommend it for anyone interested in expanded states of consciousness in general, as well as approaches that favor embodied expression in particular.
Cary Sparks, Director, Institute for Holotropics, Inc. (Grof Transpersonal Breathwork)

Erica Lorentz has created a book about creative imagination and body that matters. She describes the richness that ensues when we let the depth of soul reverberate consciously in our embodied life. How vitality grips us and leads us to hitherto undreamed places and drops us into the core of our being. The book is methodical and practical, a fascinating read for one who wishes to move out of the periphery of their existence and move to a central experience in which life truly matters. Highly recommended for the lay person (all of us) and the professional. This is a book whose time has come.
Robert Bosnak, PsyA, Jungian Psychoanalyst (IAAP), originator of Embodied Imagination®

Erica Lorentz delves into how physicality, embodiment, and sensory experience intertwine with Jung’s theories of self-discovery and personal growth. It challenges traditional interpretations of Jung’s work by proposing that the body plays a pivotal role, not just as a vessel but as a profound mirror of the psyche’s depths. By exploring how the body manifests and reflects unconscious processes, readers are invited to reconsider their own paths toward self-awareness and wholeness. Body as Shadow is poised to resonate deeply with scholars and practitioners alike, offering fresh perspectives on timeless themes of identity, integration, and the transformative power of self-discovery.
Anuradha Sathiyaseelan, PhD, Head of Indian Psychology Lab, Christ University, Bangalore, India

Erica Lorentz has written a useful, practical, readable text for the professional or lay person. Body as Shadow highlights the continued neglect of the body in psychotherapeutic practice. This is a powerful corrective and helpful tool to expand the healing process. By weaving together Jungian theory, personal narrative, and case material she brings this somatic wisdom to life through embodied active imagination. As a trainer of spiritual directors influenced by Jung, I intend to use this book as a required text for a critical piece of their formation. I recommend this book for anyone with interest in Jung, Wholeness, Healing, Spiritual Growth, Somatic Experiences.
Dr. Donald Bisson, DMin, creator of Jungian Psychology and Spiritual Direction: A Visit with Don Bisson (DVD)