IFS · Depth
Shadow Work Prompts
Jungian-adjacent journaling prompts for what we disown
About this worksheet
Shadow work is Jung's term for the psychological work of meeting what we've disowned — the traits, desires, and roles we couldn't afford to show growing up and have been managing at cost ever since. In IFS language, the shadow isn't a single dark thing; it's the whole set of parts that got exiled or buried under managers, along with the family-of-origin rules and cultural pressures that made them unwelcome. This worksheet offers thirty structured prompts across six themes: traits we're quick to judge in others, what we were taught to hide, roles we've outgrown but still perform, disowned strengths, recurring patterns in relationships, and turning toward what we've been managing. It's built as a companion to clinical parts work — for journaling between sessions with a therapist who can help the client work with what surfaces. Not a substitute for that work, and not a first-line tool for early-stabilization or acute presentations.
When to use it
- Depth-oriented clients ready to work with parts, projection, and family-of-origin material.
- IFS work between sessions — the prompts surface material for the next parts dialogue.
- Midlife re-evaluation, chronic self-judgement, or recurring relational patterns the client is ready to name.
- Not for early stabilization, acute crisis, active trauma processing without container, or clients without a clinical support relationship.
How to use it
- 1Introduce the frame
Shadow isn't bad — it's what got exiled. The work is welcoming, not fighting. Explicitly name IFS parts language: everything that surfaces is a part with a job.
- 2One theme per week
Six themes, six weeks. Attempting all thirty prompts at once flattens the work into a checklist.
- 3Bring surfaced material to session
Client marks two or three prompts that landed hardest. Those become the starting point for the next session's parts work.
- 4Close each entry with turning-toward
The final theme (turning toward) reframes each disowned part as protective. Reinforce that framing across the whole practice.
- 5Track patterns across weeks
The same disowned trait usually shows up under three different prompts. That repetition is the clinical signal.
Frequently asked questions
What is shadow work?+
Carl Jung's term for the psychological work of integrating disowned parts of self — traits, desires, and roles the person had to hide to belong. Widely used in depth-oriented, IFS, Jungian, and post-Jungian clinical work.
Is shadow work safe to do alone?+
Structured prompts like these are safe as journaling between sessions with a clinician who can help work with what surfaces. Deep shadow work without clinical support can activate exiles the client isn't equipped to hold — that's why the worksheet is a between-session tool, not a workbook.
How is this different from IFS parts work?+
IFS parts work is the in-session clinical method — the client meets a part with the therapist holding the frame. Shadow work prompts are a between-session structure to surface which parts want attention next. They live comfortably together.
Are these prompts safe for trauma clients?+
Only after stabilization and window-of-tolerance work are established, and only with clinician support. The prompts about family-of-origin and disowned emotion can activate exiles quickly.
Is this printable free?+
Yes. Free clinician PDF. Sign in to TherapistAssist to send as a secure client link or add your practice name.
Related worksheets
Worksheet — Shadow Work Prompts — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.