Certified Shadow Work Group Facilitator
Certified Shadow Work Coach
Melbourne, Australia
+61 412 517796
shadowworkaustralia.net
melbournestudioart.com.au
Dena Lester is a Melbourne-based Shadow Work® Facilitator, Coach and visual artist who brings decades of creative and therapeutic exploration to her work. She is the founder and Director of The Melbourne Studio of Art, a dynamic school that nurtures both skill and personal expression across all ages.
Though not formally trained in Jungian or Gestalt therapy, Dena’s own therapeutic journey as a client in these modalities helped shape her deep interest in the intersection between personal pain, cultural wounding, and creative expression. Her discovery of Shadow Work® offered an accessible and powerful framework to navigate complex inner landscapes and gently transform unconscious patterns.
Dena trained as a Shadow Work® Coach and Group Facilitator in 2019 and has since become a committed presence in the Australian Shadow Work® community. She draws on her background in art, group facilitation, and emotional process to create spaces that are warm, grounded, and transformative. Her influences include the Shadow Work® Weekends, Basic, Advanced and Leader Facilitator Trainings, the Eros workshop, and the Women in Power and Women Within initiation weekends.
Dena also runs unique programs through her art school that merge art making and the archetypes, creating a rich environment where creative expression meets personal insight – particularly influenced by her Shadow Work® training.
She is particularly passionate about working with:
- Releasing creative blocks and aligning with authentic vision
- Navigating intergenerational and cultural trauma
- Healing patterns around addiction and compulsion
- Holding space for Jewish individuals exploring identity, legacy, and resilience in the context of personal and collective history
As a Jewish woman deeply engaged in understanding the current cultural and geopolitical climate, Dena brings a nuanced, compassionate approach to her work with individuals and communities affected by inherited trauma, cultural displacement, and historical wounds.
Dena offers international coaching via Zoom and in-person sessions in Melbourne, along with workshops and experiential group programs that integrate art, archetypes, and emotional process.