127. The Spiritual Dangers of SHADOW WORK No One Tells You | Occult to Orthodoxy Series (Part 13)127. The Spiritual Dangers of SHADOW WORK No One Tells You | Occult to Orthodoxy Series (Part 13)
Raised & Redeemed
Michaela reflects on her journey through New Age shadow work and therapy, contrasting Jungian ideas with Orthodox Christian teaching. She shares why she sees shadow work as spiritually risky and explains why, in her view, deep healing is found through Christ and the life of the Church.
19:58•20 May 2026
Shadow Work, Inner Darkness and Orthodoxy: A Candid Look at Healing
Episode Overview
- Shadow work, rooted in Carl Jung’s ideas, is presented as incompatible with Orthodox Christian teaching about God, evil and the human person.
- Michaela links her own New Age shadow work practices to harmful choices, arguing that embracing “inner darkness” can lead to serious spiritual harm.
- Orthodox perspectives highlighted in the episode stress that healing comes through repentance, the sacraments and life in the Church, rather than self-focused psychological techniques.
- Therapy is described as genuinely helpful for trauma and self-awareness, but limited without deeper transformation in Christ.
- The episode encourages discernment in choosing therapists and warns that secular or Non-Christian approaches may validate actions that conflict with Christian marriage and morality.
“I remember embracing my dark side and its desires and that being the very thing that led me into the strip club, into an adulterous relationship, and into the darkest seasons of my life.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This chapter of the Occult to Orthodoxy series zooms in on the booming trend of shadow work and questions what happens when “own your darkness” becomes the main strategy for healing. Host Michaela Nikolenko, who shares that she’s come through childhood trauma, substance abuse, New Age practices and intensive therapy, takes a hard look at shadow work from an Orthodox Christian lens.
Drawing on Carl Jung’s original idea of the “shadow” and how it has morphed into Instagram-friendly coaching and New Age retreats, she asks whether embracing inner “demons” is really the path to wholeness or a doorway to spiritual danger.
You’ll hear her describe very raw experiences of New Age retreats: “I remember embracing my dark side and its desires and that being the very thing that led me into the strip club, into an adulterous relationship, and into the darkest seasons of my life.” From there, she contrasts Jungian integration with what she calls Orthodox transfiguration – not owning the darkness, but bringing it to Christ through repentance, confession and the sacramental life of the Church.
Michaela also gives balanced space to psychology and therapy.
She notes how some therapeutic tools genuinely helped her, and how Orthodox clergy often see therapy as useful support, especially for trauma survivors, while still insisting that “you need to be transformed in your heart and soul by the presence of God.” Along the way, she links Jung’s shadow to the Orthodox understanding of the passions, warns about mixing New Age ideas with Christian faith, and stresses the need for discernment when working with secular therapists.
If you’ve ever wondered where self-work ends and spiritual risk begins, this episode offers a candid, faith-based critique with plenty of real-life examples to think about. How might your own healing journey look different if, instead of integrating the darkness, you handed it over to Christ?
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