About The Rise of Jung in Me:
The Rise of Jung in Me: A Transformational Journey
For over a decade, Dr Toula Gordillo grappled with a haunting question: “How can we help youth with their issues if we haven’t resolved our own?”
Managing only the most complex cases among six thousand students, and as a parent of three (then) teenagers, she witnessed profound suffering experienced by young people. This exposure triggered her own deeply buried issues of powerlessness, rejection and abandonment from her teenage years.
Finding modern cognitive methods inadequate for healing these deep-seated traumas, she became inspired by Dr Carl Jung’s concept of the ‘shadow self’. As a result of her research, she discovered that a holistic approach, based on ancestral wisdom, was necessary. Her quest to find the best healing practices for youth had evolved into a personal exploration of her adolescent shadow self.
Dr Toula began journaling in an attempt to put ‘the pieces of the puzzle’ together. What she now calls “the rise of Jung in me”, detailed in her scribbled notes, was later transformed into her recently-published second book with the same title. Here, she details the evolution of Story Image Therapy (SIT®) and its psychospiritual and philosophical adjunct, SIT Shadow Work™. This innovative method, grounded in Jungian psychology and Stoic/Taoist philosophy, has positively influenced the lives of thousands of youth and their adult caregivers across Australia, New Zealand, and India.
The Rise of Jung in Me unveils Dr Toula’s new, holistic teaching and counselling method that integrates the voices of young people and our own inner youth. Divided into three sections, the book details her Jungian action research method, addressing themes like:
• Carl Jung’s shadow self
• The wounded inner child/adolescent
• The power of youth voice
• The value of lived experience for healing
Through compelling storytelling and evocative black-and-white images, Dr Toula illustrates how she applied Jung’s teachings to heal her wounds and those of others. This true hero’s/heroine’s journey story features the latest research on youth psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. It also includes six transformative case studies of young people, and their adult carers, who benefited from Story Image Therapy’s practical application: SIT Shadow Work™.
Join Dr Toula on her extraordinary journey of self-discovery and learn how her innovative methods can bring healing and resilience to the next generation, their parents, caregivers, and ultimately, to you.
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Author Bio:
Dr Toula Gordillo is an experienced clinical and Jungian psychologist. As the originator of Story Image Therapy (SIT®) and SIT Shadow Work™, her unique Jungian action research teaching and counselling method has culminated in the SIT Solutions program and workshops hosted by her Australian organisation: Shadow Work Solutions.
Individuals displaying mental or behavioural health concerns are referred to Dr Toula by medical personnel, senior administrative or government officials, and other professionals. Diagnosed health conditions often include (but are not limited to) anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, grief and loss, alcohol and substance abuse, etc. To treat a person effectively, Dr Toula usually works on the unconscious aspects of the person in conjunction with modern universal (transpersonal/Jungian) psychology methods. This is because research shows that most of our brain’s activity (up to 95%) is unconscious, rather than conscious. It is also why Dr Toula uses symbolic stories and images to help a person to access their unconscious thoughts, feelings, memories, behavioural patterns, levels of caring etc.
Contemporary psychology research further reveals that people with spiritual, religious or philosophical understanding of life do, in fact, have better mental health. This research finding aligns with Dr Toula’s lived experience of treating her own adolescent stress, trauma and grief. These complexes in her shadow that significantly affected her as an adult are outlined in Dr Toula’s second book, The Rise of Jung in Me.
Shadows of Sylvaheim is the first of Dr Toula’s books. Included in her SIT Solutions program and workshops, this Young Adult Jungian mythic fantasy novel is used to identify triggers in a person’s childhood or adolescent years. Shadows of Sylvaheim is helpful for youth and their adult carers to recognise, embrace and ultimately integrate their adolescent shadow. It’s available as a written book, ebook and in audiobook format on Audible and Spotify.
The Rise of Jung in Me is Dr Toula’s second book, also included in the SIT Solutions program and workshops.
Frog and Scorpion in the Boardroom is Dr Toula’s soon-to-be published third book. It offers a brief introduction to Story Image Therapy (SIT®), SIT Shadow Work™ and the SIT Solutions program through a contemporary parable. Adapted from the premise of an ancient fable, this modern-day corporate fairytale is for all ages, and individuals, involved in ‘the business of life’.
Dr Toula is currently working on her fourth book entitled Stress and My Shadow. This workbook is the primary resource (SIT tool) in the SIT Solutions program and workshops. Designed to be used in conjunction with her other books, the Stress and My Shadow workbook offers an overview of her psychospiritual and philosophical healing program.