Anneke has experienced several dark nights, the first after an accident when she was sixteen. She has worked in mental health for many years, including in hospital settings and as a community psychiatric nurse, and has accompanied people on their descents as well as navigating her own.

Amongst many other things, we talk about how the dark night pushes us into “a deeper something,” including previously unrecognised trauma; crumbling, and not having anything to hold onto; and how “some things must die before something else can be rebirthed.” We discuss the difference between depression and the dark night; the “innate aliveness” that comes “from deep inside, like a seed”; and connecting to the innate intelligence that is inherent in nature. We touch on discovering intimacy with ourselves and life during the dark night; clinging to our identities; and meeting the place where “ deep love, deep grief, and deep healing live.” We also mention the stigma of labels like psychosis and the centrality of curiosity, openness, innocence and vulnerability; the importance of myths, poems, and songs, and the dark nights of Persephone and Inanna; being stripped of our “garments” and becoming an anam cara; and finding oaks on which to lean.

Anneke Sips is the author of The Wisdom of Psychosis, and an integrative trauma therapist. She pioneered the integration of yoga into psychiatric settings, and is a founding member of the Global Consortium of Yoga Therapy. Her work bridges psychiatry and embodied healing — exploring the deeper layers of human consciousness through an integrative and relational lens. Known for her grounded presence and clarity, Anneke supports individuals, families, and professionals worldwide in learning to meet altered states and lived experience with steadiness, dignity, and discernment.

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Fiona Robertson is the author of The Dark Night of the Soul: A Journey from Absence to Presence, and Eve Was a Realist: Poems for the Untamed Heart. She works one to one with people who are going through a dark night or spiritual emergency, accompanying them in this challenging terrain as they rediscover and deepen into their real selves. She also offers a monthly dark night gathering group, and occasional workshops for therapists and counsellors.

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Mentions

We mention the myths of Persephone and Inanna.

Fiona quotes from Anneke’s dark night of the soul guide.

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Music by James Waring / Design by Adam McKillop / Artwork by Stefan Armoneit