Basic Shadow Work® Facilitator Training
The Basic Facilitator Training (BFT) is an intensive, highly experiential introduction to facilitating Shadow Work®. Over eight days, you will learn the foundational theory, structure, and processes of the model. You’ll practice the tools in manageable pieces and ultimately co-facilitate complete individual processes with close guidance from experienced trainers.
Just as importantly, you will begin learning to recognize what happens inside you while you facilitate -your instincts, assumptions, reactions, gifts, and shadows- so they can become sources of information rather than unconsciously directing the work.
Who is this training for?
This training is especially valuable for coaches, therapists, trainers, facilitators, group leaders, and others whose work involves supporting people, navigating group dynamics, or creating conditions for meaningful change. It can also be a powerful next step for people considering one of those paths.
Some participants attend because they intend to pursue certification as a Shadow Work Coach or Group Facilitator. Others come to deepen their existing professional practice, strengthen their facilitation skills, or understand themselves and other people through the experiential personal growth framework of Shadow Work.
You do not need to know whether you want to pursue certification before attending. You do need a genuine interest in self-exploration, supporting others, and examining your own impact as a facilitator.
What you will learn
Although the training teaches specific Shadow Work processes, many of the underlying skills can strengthen the way you facilitate, coach, lead meetings, work with groups, or accompany people through emotionally complex experiences. You will learn and practice ways of:
Helping participants clarify what they want, what may be getting in the way, and what level of risk is acceptable to them.
Supporting choice when someone feels uncertain, conflicted, emotionally overwhelmed, numb, or stuck.
Exploring the four archetypal energies within the Shadow Work system—Lover, Warrior, Magician, and Sovereign—to deepen your understanding of yourself and others.
Recognizing when your own reactions, assumptions, and shadows may be entering the facilitation.
Working collaboratively with a co-facilitator.
Closing and integrating experiential processes intentionally and carefully.
Learning to “lead from behind” using structure, intuition, and curiosity while remaining guided by the participant’s desired outcome instead of imposing your own interpretation, agenda, or preferred conclusion.
The training includes teaching sessions with theory, demonstrations of the processes you’ll be learning, focused practice, personal process work, co-facilitation, and detailed feedback from both trainers. Because the group is small, you will receive close guidance and support as you gradually move from practicing individual skills to facilitating complete processes.
Training Details
Dates
February 20–27, 2027
Location
Boise, Idaho
Trainers
Gretchen Kainz and Nathalie Jackson
Tuition
$3,400, including the training manual and all training sessions
A $750 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your place.
Enrollment
Limited to eight participants.
Meals and accommodations
Snacks will be provided throughout the training. Participants are responsible for their own meals, lodging, and transportation.
Interested in attending?
Because this training is intensive, experiential, and relational, we ask each potential participant to speak with one of the trainers before registering. This conversation gives us an opportunity to describe the experience more fully, hear what is drawing you to the training, answer your questions, and explore any support or accommodation that would help you participate.
After deciding to attend and submitting your deposit, you will be asked to sign the Basic Facilitator Training licensing agreement. The agreement protects the intellectual property of Shadow Work® and explains how the copyrighted training materials and processes may be used. Once the agreement is signed, you will receive the training manual to study before the training begins.
Training and certification
Completing the BFT does not make you a certified Shadow Work Coach or Group Facilitator. It provides a substantial foundation and is the first formal training step within the certification pathway.
Attending the BFT does not commit you to pursuing certification. Many people take the training to strengthen the work they are already doing or to deepen their understanding of facilitation, relationships, and human behavior.
For those who do continue, developing the judgment and capacity to facilitate Shadow Work responsibly happens through continued practice, feedback, mentoring, additional training, and completion of the certification requirements.
