Our Trustees

Sonu Shamdasani was appointed Patron to G.A.P. in April 2011.  He is the Philemon Professor of Jung, The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. In 2009 he edited and co-translated the Red Book, written by CG Jung between 1914 and 1930 and which was prepared for publication by the Philemon Foundation which he co-founded with Stephen Martin.

Sonu Shamdasani was born in Singapore but grew up in England.  He gained his BA from Bristol University in 1984 which was followed in 1994 by an MSc in History of Science and Medicine from UCL/Imperial College. In 1996 he gained his Ph.D in History of Medicine from the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine/UCL. He has published a number of books including Jung Stripped Bare: by his Biographers, Even; Jung and the Making of Modern Psychology: The Dream of a Science; and Cult Fictions: C. G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology.

After completing an M.A. in Ancient Classics at University College Cork, Jim came to live in London, initially to do research for a Ph.D. in Byzantine Greek. He worked for some years in Administration in University College London, before becoming a Primary School teacher in inner London schools.

With many years of Jungian Analysis behind him, he decided to retrain as an analyst at the C.G. Jung institute in Zurich. Returning to London, he began practice as an analyst, joining GAP in its early days, and also IGAP. He has previously served as a Trustee for GAP and as a Chair for the C.G. Jung Analytical Psychology Club London. Much of Jim’s time has been spent teaching, giving lectures and workshops, and in running reading groups.

Melanie is currently a founding trustee of Women’s Heartbeat, a charity set up to raise awareness of women’s heart conditions. Previously, she was also a trustee and Chair of trustees for GAP Between 1989 and 2004 she worked with a number of organisations in the UK and in Central and Eastern Europe assisting them in change management processes. This work included leading and managing projects for the EU and the British Government. She also led a research project in South Africa and Zambia on cross sector partnerships.

While training with GAP and during the initial stages of setting up her analytic practice she was Deputy Director of the NIHR Research Design Service for the East of England. In her earlier career she undertook training in the dynamics of groups at the Institute of Group Analysis as well as training in systems theory and its applications to families and organisations at the Institute of Family Therapy. Melanie’s PhD, entitled ‘Aspects of the Feminine in Business: A Jungian perspective’, focussed on unconscious processes in large companies.