Sonu Shamdasani is a London-based author and professor at University College London, specializing in the history of psychiatry and psychology, with a particular focus on Carl Gustav Jung. His academic journey began with studies in the history of science and medicine, culminating in a PhD from University College London. Shamdasani's work is deeply intertwined with C.G. Jung's intellectual legacy, especially concerning Jung's seminal, yet previously unpublished, work, 'The Red Book' (Liber Novus).

Shamdasani played a crucial role in bringing 'The Red Book' to public and professional attention. He co-founded the Philemon Foundation with the aim of publishing Jung's complete works, including previously unreleased manuscripts. His editorial efforts led to the 2009 publication of 'The Red Book,' a volume Jung himself created between 1914 and 1930, which Shamdasani describes as central to Jung's oeuvre and understanding his confrontation with the unconscious. Shamdasani's research has been instrumental in contextualizing Jung's psychological development and personal life through this pivotal work.

Sonu Shamdasani holds a professorship at University College London, where he directs the UCL Centre for the History of Psychological Disciplines. His academic path included degrees from Bristol University and University College London, where he earned his PhD in the History of Medicine. Shamdasani's research interests span the history of psychiatry and psychology from the mid-19th century to the present. His encounter with Jung's work, particularly his commentary on 'The Secret of the Golden Flower' during his travels in India, sparked his interest in psychology and led him to investigate the historical development of contemporary psychological thought.

Shamdasani is widely recognized for his pivotal role in the publication of C.G. Jung's 'The Red Book' (Liber Novus). This significant, illustrated manuscript, created by Jung between 1914 and 1930, remained largely inaccessible for decades. Shamdasani's research uncovered details about the book's existence and, through careful negotiation with Jung's descendants, secured the agreement for its release. He then undertook the extensive editorial work, culminating in the 2009 publication by the Philemon Foundation, a project he co-founded. Shamdasani emphasizes 'The Red Book's' centrality to Jung's self-experimentation and his confrontation with the unconscious, viewing it as essential for a comprehensive understanding of Jung's life and work.

In 2003, Shamdasani, alongside Stephen Martin, established the Philemon Foundation. This organization was created with the explicit goal of publishing the entirety of C.G. Jung's writings, including numerous manuscripts and works that had not yet been made public. While Jung's 'Collected Works' had been published, a wealth of material remained. Shamdasani serves as the General Editor for the Philemon Foundation, continuing his dedicated efforts to make Jung's complete oeuvre available to scholars and the public, thereby ensuring a more complete understanding of his psychological theories and personal journey.

“I am a Sindhi, I was born in Singapore and grew up in England. I first encountered Jung when I was travelling in India in my teens, looking for a guru. The first work of his that I came across was his commentary to The Secret of the Golden Flower, which was my first introduction to psychology. I then saw the text as promising the possibility of a mediation between Eastern mysticism and Western rationality. After further study, I thought that contemporary psychology and psychotherapy was in a mess, and I wanted to figure out how it had got into this state. This led me to the studying the history of psychology”

“the book that stands at the center of his oeuvre”

“has long been recognized as the key to comprehending”

“was at the center of Jung's self-experimentation”

“If one does not place Jung's confrontation with the unconscious in a proper perspective, or understand the significance of the Red Book, one is in no place to understand fully Jung's intellectual development from 1913 onwards, and not only that, but his life as well: it was his inner life which dictated his movements in the world. ... For Jung's work on his fantasies in Black Books and the Red Book formed the core of his later work, as he himself contended. The Red Book is at the center of Jung's life and work. [Understanding Jung] without an accurate account of it would be like writing the life of Dante without the Commedia, or Goethe without Faust.”