Voice Dialogue shines a light on the various aspects of your personality. It will surprise you with the clarity and depth of understanding it provides. It was developed by two Jungian psychologists, Hal and Sidra Stone PhD's, in the 70's. John Bradshaw, author of Homecoming, said "Their Voice Dialogue work is original and brilliant." There are now many books available on VD.
VD is based on the model that the personality is not one homogenous whole but a collection of discreet sub-personalities, each having its own part to play in the overall personality. It's as if the personality were a symphony...each instrument being a sub-personality. The conductor of the symphony corresponds to your core self (you), which spontaneously coordinates and balances all of the sub-personalities for the greatest good. The better the conductor knows and understands the various instruments, the better he/she can conduct the symphony. So the goal of VD is to better acquaint you with the various sub-personalities so you can do a better job of attending to your personality.
Each sub-personality is distinct and has its own function, reactions and agenda within the personality. You might have sub-personalities that are protective, adventurous, social, playful, conservative, logical, emotional, rebellious, vulnerable and so on. They can be adults or children. There can be any number of them. They all function seamlessly and subconsciously as one integrated whole.
The work itself is simple and unassuming. The facilitator will have you shift into a second chair which will represent the sub-personality to be explored. When the facilitator takes you into the sub-personality, it is somewhat of an altered state. Each sub-personality will have its own perspective and a distinct "feel" to it. Coming back to yourself, you will have a clearer sense of what that part of you is all about.
At any given moment, there are usually a few sub-personalities operating in the foreground, and others in the background. What you identify as yourself (with all of your feelings, thoughts, desires and intentions) is actually a weave of these threads. To explore the sup-personalities that are currently operating provides a whole new way to understand yourself in any particular situation.
I find this work to be simple, obvious and powerful. it brings a level of clarity I have found nowhere else.