Shadow work is the practice of consciously exploring and integrating the "shadow", the disowned, repressed or unacknowledged parts of the self, a concept drawn from the analytical psychology of Carl Jung and widely adopted in contemporary therapeutic, self-development and spiritual settings. In Jung's psychology the shadow is the aspect of the personality that the conscious ego rejects and pushes out of awareness: the traits, impulses and feelings judged unacceptable and therefore denied, which do not thereby disappear but operate unconsciously, colouring behaviour, erupting in unguarded moments, and being projected onto others, in whom one then condemns what one cannot own in oneself. Jung held that wholeness, the process he called individuation, requires bringing the shadow into consciousness and integrating its contents, a difficult and often uncomfortable confrontation with the parts of oneself one would rather not see.
As a practice, shadow work involves the deliberate effort to recognise these disowned aspects, through self-examination, attention to one's strong aversions and projections, the analysis of dreams, journaling, and various guided exercises, and to acknowledge, understand and integrate them rather than continuing to deny them. It has been taken up far beyond formal Jungian analysis, becoming a popular term in self-help, coaching and modern spirituality, where it is often simplified and detached from Jung's larger and more demanding theoretical framework. In its serious form it rests on the psychological insight, widely shared beyond Jung's specific system, that what is repressed retains its force, that self-knowledge requires facing the unwelcome truths about oneself, and that maturity and freedom come not from perfecting or denying the darker side of the self but from acknowledging and coming to terms with it.