Shadow Work
ASSOCIATION
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Train in the work

Three residential weeks. A mentor. Years of ongoing practice.

The Shadow Work training pathway is held by Shadow Work Training Europe — a separate body — and certified by the Association. People who finish it are members in good standing of a community that takes its work seriously.

The pathway

Basic, Advanced, and one specialisation.

Step 1
BFT
One week, residential

Basic Facilitator Training

The first step on the pathway, whether you intend to train as a coach or as a group facilitator. The week is experiential — you do your own work, learn the toolkit by being held in it, and begin to facilitate alongside a senior trainer.

  • ·The four-direction map, hands-on
  • ·Core facilitation tools
  • ·Your own personal-work process, in the room
  • ·Toolkit of professional coaching skills
Step 2
AFT
One week, residential

Advanced Facilitator Training

Builds on the Basic Training. The Advanced deepens your facilitation, introduces the harder edges of the work, and prepares you for either specialisation track. Prerequisite: BFT plus a period of practice.

  • ·Advanced facilitation techniques
  • ·Working with grief, anger, and shame
  • ·Holding a room under pressure
  • ·Beginning to take primary responsibility for processes
Step 3
LT / CT
One week, residential, choose one track

Specialisation — Leader or Coach

After the Advanced you specialise. Leader Training (LT) is for those who want to lead group Shadow Work weekends. Coaching Training (CT) is for those who want to work one-to-one — the cohort is capped at eight participants over seven days.

  • ·Leader Training (LT) — for group facilitators
  • ·Coaching Training (CT) — for one-to-one coaches
  • ·Apprenticeship period after the training
  • ·Supervised final delivery before certification
After the training

The training is not the certification.

Finishing a training week is the start of the certification process, not the end. From there you work with an assigned mentor. Aspiring coaches build up supervised client hours until both mentor and trainer agree they are ready; aspiring group facilitators lead an observed seminar under supervision. Peer-learning practice groups across Europe support both routes.

Once certified, every practitioner re-certifies every two years, holds an ongoing personal-work practice, and attends the Association's professional gatherings. People who train in this work tend to stay in it.

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Considering training?

Most people who train have done a workshop first.

Sitting in a group as a participant is the best way to know whether this is work you want to spend years learning to hold.

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