Ann Shearer

Ann Shearer is a senior analyst with the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists in London and has taught widely in both the UK and elsewhere. She was involved with the International Association for Analytical Psychology training in Russia for a decade, and is still a visiting teacher for the IAAP group in Bulgaria. She has written many professional articles and book chapters; her ten books range from social responses to disability to cultures of the psychotherapeutic consulting room. Both books and articles reflect the varied experiences of her own working life. Before becoming an analyst, she was a journalist with The Guardian and freelance writer, specialising in social welfare, and an international consultant on services to people with intellectual disabilities. This led to an abiding fascination with the relationships between individuals, organisations and wider collectives, as well as the differences and similarities between cultures.

She has also found great enjoyment in exploring the understandings of human behaviour encoded in the old mythic tales and the ways in which these can illuminate contemporary psychology. This has helped to structure three of her latest books : Athene: Image and energy ; From ancient myth to modern healing; Themis: goddess of heart-soul , justice and reconciliation (with Pamela Donleavy); and most recently Why Don’t Psychotherapists Laugh? Enjoyment and the consulting room.