April 20th – November 30th, 2024
14 Live Courses | Offered Live via Zoom
Program Description
What you will receive
Evil as an Autonomous Complex Course Overview: Attempts to formulate a psychology of evil founder on the fact that evil does not find enough ground in the psyche alone to allow a logos of its operations to emerge just from psychological analysis. Jung, in his sixties, first fell into this trap when he tried to write about Nazi evil; in his seventies he came to see that not everything he wanted his psychology to clarify could be assumed to belong to psyche simply because it felt like a psychological problem. In 1947, Jung put forward the term “psychoid” to describe what resembled psyche but was not human enough to be part of anyone’s individual or group soul. The psychoid is “-oid,” in the sense of seeming. It only appears to belong to psyche, just as a humanoid creature only appears to be human. Evil’s psychoid nature does not preclude it becoming a complex, but that does not mean that evils belong to a differentiated unitary psyche capable of figuring out evil’s meaning. As an undermining complex that attacks the psyche, evil is devoid of the capacity to organize an integrative psychological standpoint. Evil shatters the capacity of consciousness to contemplate even itself in an introspective or empathic way. Evil thrives on remaining an abstract, extra-human force. In my work with psychological types, I have observed that one of the eight function-attitudes of consciousness that Jung defined tends to claim a demonic space in each of us that is dedicated to unsettling and undermining ourselves and others. Evil functions so stealthily and devilishly as to be untranscendable by any psychological means. It is the transcendent function’s shadow, its evil twin. This section of “When Evil Reigns” will show what is added when we focus on the notorious autonomy of evil and recognize that this independence of psyche is an aspect of evil’s psychoid nature. Learning Objectives
Evil as Abuse of The Feminine (Fear of The Feminine) Course Overview The trauma of abuse runs deeply in the history of the Western world. I will use Caravaggio’s paintings to illustrate the loss of soul and how the abuse of the feminine perpetrated against women not only creates the fear of the feminine, in Neuman terms, but also alienates the possibility of encountering the Other, not as the contra-sexual other but rather the meeting with the horror that comes from being abused—the freezing of the uncanny that penetrate the psyche. Caravaggio is the painter of the beheading of the Loss of the Soul. Often, the head is his. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was able to represent the moment in which the soul is lost but also Medusa’s with all the snakes around her head. He doesn’t shake in front of evil and can represent the pervasive fear of the abused. War is, of course, the repetition of some abuse, no matter how. Even a defensive war can become a repetition of horror already inflicted. Interestingly in the history of the West, the only movements that changed the vision of the world towards a vision of peace and love were that of mysticism that developed in the tenth century and, more recently, that of the feminist thought of the late twentieth Century. Through the minor art produced by women in the convent and by the beguines in their collective residences, a new vision of a peaceful world was possible. Not the grandiose work of art celebrating wars for power or supremacy, but a simple representation of life in the convents, in the orchards and gardens representation of payer and images of illumination, respect for the other. The feminists put into discussion the patriarchal mythology and, working in the interstitial of the great myths, re-narrated mythology from another point of view, that of the feminine. Learning objectives:
Evil as Systemic Racism Course Overview In Jungian Reflections on Systemic Racism: Reflections from Members of an American Psychoanalytic Learning Community (Routledge 2023), Carter and Houck, et. al employ major tenents of Jung’s theory of individuation (i.e., the complex, individuation, primitivity, dissociation, projection and recollection) in discussing the impact of unconscious racial bias in Jung’s writings, common interpretations/applications of his paradigm. Jung’s highly innovative method remains efficacious. Carter and Houck propose that the Jungian method is resourceful in grappling with personal and systemic impacts of racism. In this course, Evil and Systemic Racism, Houck and Carter draw largely from their contributions to Jungian Reflections on Systemic Racism to examine pejorative othering through intrapsychic and inter-relational lenses, creating dialogue by first identifying under-addressed attitudes and behaviors such as analytic anonymity or analytic neutrality that may may promote barriers to inclusivity through unconscious enactments. In exploring white-body supremacy trauma (Menakem 2017) and the attitude of white supremacy (Carter 2023) in analytic psychology, Houck and Carter utilize Jungian analytic theory to promote empathic discussions that exemplify a psychoanalytic method of deconstructing systematized and systemic racism within Jungian theory. In doing so, they employ the specificity and ingenuity of Jung’s analytic paradigm to offer insight into the work of anti-racism from a depth psychological perspective. Attendees of Evil and Systemic Racism will explore how a community might work toward greater consciousness by using its own method to critique and advance its paradigm, promoting greater inclusivity within its training programs and clincial practices. Evil and Systemic Racism is a course that is suitable for the public, mental health and medical professionals, sociologists, and all those interested in the wide impact of the unscientific construct, ‘race’. This course is open to anyone interested in the work of C. G. Jung (working with terror and trauma). Lay persons as well as professionals are welcome. Learning objectives
The Evil Shadow Of Religion Course overview This course will discuss six ways in which religions cause a great deal of evil. One is the result of religious narcissism, the notion that a particular tradition is superior to all the others, and only that tradition is a path to salvation. The second is the level of violence fostered by religious traditions, while the third is the remarkable level of misogyny found in the theistic traditions. The fourth is the way in which human psychological needs for power and domination are projected onto the theistic image of God. The fifth is the mythology of the End Times, which will lead to a violent confrontation of good and evil, while the sixth is the tendency towards masochism fostered by some traditions. Religion can be used in the service of maintaining or enhancing the adherent’s self-esteem, or to feel superior and special. In part this occurs by insisting on the primacy of a particular sacred text, in part by insisting that its adherents have a special connection to God, using phrases such as “saved” or “chosen.” Many human narcissistic needs are projected onto the image of God in the Hebrew Bible, resulting in a God-image characteristic of borderline psychopathology. In Christianity, deviation from official doctrine led to murderous violence against nonbelievers. Religious violence is a sometimes a feature of religious doctrine, not a perversion of it, as if “God wills it.” Warfare has long been associated with religion, and violence can easily be spiritualized, sometimes motivated by apocalyptic fantasies about who will be the elect and who will be saved. Misogyny and the fear of women are disguised by religious teachings and sacred texts. This problem permeated the Bible and the Abrahamic traditions. Moral masochism is also disguised as necessary suffering in the service of a transcendent goal. Learning Objectives: (Pending updates) Biography Dr. Lionel Corbett trained in medicine and psychiatry in England and as a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of seven books: Psyche and the sacred: The religious function of the psyche; The sacred cauldron: Psychotherapy as a spiritual practice; The soul in anguish: Psychotherapeutic approaches to suffering; Understanding Evil: A guide for psychotherapists, and The God-image: From antiquity to Jung. His latest book is: Jung’s philosophy, controversies, quantum mechanics, and the Self. He is the co-editor of four volumes of collected papers: Psyche’s Stories; Depth psychology, meditations in the field; Psychology at the threshold; and Jung and aging. Contact email: corb@pacifica.edu Recommended reading lists (Pending updates) Alan Vaughn (US) 29TH JUNE
Evil as Authoritarianism/Colonialism (Original Sin, Evil, and Confession: Truth and Reconciliation of the Colonial Enterprise) Course Overview From the archetypal perspective, this seminar addresses the subject of Evil as an Original Sin, expressed as shadow phenomena and negative aspects of the Trickster archetype in individual and group psyche, and collective group governance structures. Perspectivism is foundational to the analysis and discussion along with dialectical considerations of Good as the counterpoint to Evil, represented in the archetype of Justice. The archetypal perspective of Good is amplified in Kemetic – Egyptian mythology and cultural complexes. The presentation and discussion include: The archetypes of Culture, the Trickster, and Justice; Pan European and American cultural complexes in the protocols for the colonial enterprise; the example of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), encoding colonization into the canons of European International law; the African Diaspora emerging from the Cultural Unconscious and the African Cultural Unconscious; reference to Pan African Liberation Movements for freedoms and against colonialism and domestic apartheid; the U.S. Civil Rights Movement against violence, terror, and murder particular to American apartheid; and the current Culture wars, as a retrenchment of racism, the pathogen infecting current U.S. Constitutional Jurisprudence, psyche, and systems in the U.S. Political Economy. We conclude with consideration of Jung’s recommended stages of treatment for psychopathology. Learning Objectives:
Analysis in the Shadow of Terror: Clinical Aspects Course Overview This presentation focuses on the impact of terror on the analytical situation in Israel, especially holding the temenos, dreams, and the therapeutic relationship. The lecture draws on the pioneering work of Jung and Erich Neumann. Special attention is given to my work with Palestinian patients. It also gives case material of others directed effected by trauma. It begins with active imagination and goes on to discuss conscious and unconscious fantasies concerning safety, who is the enemy and the nature of evil, both personal and archetypal. Although clinical details come from Israel, I believe that many of the phenomena can be applied to terror situations elsewhere. Given the ubiquitous nature of terror and violence, it is vital to understand its dynamic and how it effects practice of analysis. Learning objectives
Evil as Destructiveness, Atrocities and Healing: Epistemological and Clinical Reflections Course Overview: Manifestations of destructiveness and of wider phenomena, of what I term Severe Forms of Collective Adversity, are so pervasive and have such multidimensional impact on our lives that it is difficult to create a vantage point from where to appropriately examine them. Moreover, due to their very nature (which combines highly emotional states with the raw concreteness of their destructive effects, along with the urgent need to address their harmful consequences), such phenomena tend to overwhelm us. In turn, when we are overwhelmed, our capacity for processing not only our perceptions of events and circumstances around us but also our own very experiences becomes impaired. Then, with diminished capacity to process, we tend to lose clarity, weakening our ability to discern complexity. Ultimately, without the facility to grasp complexity, we are prone to oversimplified and polarised perceptions of such highly complex phenomena. In my presentation, creatively using extensions of Jungian insights, I will present and discuss a framework that can be used to identify complexities such as, in addition to their negative effects, catastrophic events also provide opportunities for certain forms of transformative individuation. This innovative framework, which has a proven applicability, emphasises the pivotal relevance of epistemological processes that take place during such attempts at comprehending these multifaceted phenomena. Specific attention is going to be given to the meaning of archetypal epistemology. I will argue that the main (and neglected) Jungian contribution to our understanding of destructiveness is in terms of discerning the relevance of archetypal epistemology, i.e. the impact that archetypal influences have on the way we form our very presuppositions in encountering such phenomena of Severe Forms of Collective Adversity. Learning objectives:
Evil and Painting/Drawing Course Overview Evil is obviously part of mankind, otherwise it could not spread in the world in so many different ways: “One must be positively blind not to see the colossal role that evil plays in the world. Indeed, it took the intervention of God himself to deliver humanity from the curse of evil, for without his intervention man would have been lost.” C.G. Jung, CW 9 II, § 114 We are currently experiencing its violent grimace on a collective level in the most diverse hotspots of war, of which I would only like to mention Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Palestinians. The responsible warmongers are obviously under the dominance of the negative masculine, which wants to exercise power and achieve problematic victories at the cost of the lives of many of its fighting young men and women. There is also little regard for the suffering of the civilian population. The effects of such an irresponsible and destructive policy can be devastating on a psychological level, even for people who are not directly exposed to war, especially if a negative, dominant father complex and a weak mother complex are present. I would like to illustrate this with the example of two female analysands, women in their best years, who grew up in very different civilizations, but who both initially reacted to the hotspots of war with a state of shock. We will delve into at least two of the paintings of my two analysands. They reflect the feeling of complete powerlessness and numbness as well as the struggle for inner stability and the constellation of self-healing powers and hope. Learning objectives:
Evil and Sandplay: Expressive Sandwork in contexts of war and disruption Course Overview In this course, we will delve into the psyche’s inherent ability and resolve to self-regulate through the creation of images and narratives, especially when offered a “free and protected space” – a concept pioneered by Dora Kalff, the founder of Sandplay Therapy. I will showcase a diverse array of examples from sandwork projects conducted in Ukraine and Colombia, demonstrating how a sandbox and a curated collection of miniatures can serve as valuable tools in trauma treatment. Emphasizing a non-directive and resource-oriented approach, these examples will illuminate the efficacy of this therapeutic method. Throughout the course, we will closely examine sandwork processes employed with children facing extreme situations, where themes of evil, adversity, and abuse loom large. By analyzing these instances, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the profound impact that sandplay therapy can have in fostering healing and resilience in challenging circumstances. Learning objectives:
Evil and Fairytales Course Overview: Fairy tales describe archetypal patterns and thus collective unconscious processes that operate behind zeitgeist phenomena. They deepen our understanding of contemporary social phenomena. Due to the increasing worldwide tensions and polarizations, including military conflicts, we want to start this seminar by addressing the collective shadow that we usually refer to as the devil. Fairy tales can show us what kind of attitude and behavior is needed in order not to be destroyed by this dark power. To understand war and destructiveness, it is also worth looking at fairy tales without happy endings. They can teach us which archetypal patterns pave the way of destructive developments. Learning objectives:
Evil and Innocents: Working with Human Rights Violations in Clinical and Community Settings Course Overview Learning objectives: 1) how analytical psychology helps in understanding the profoundly human, social and political issues that contribute to human rights violations; and 2) how analytical psychology is an effective therapeutic tool for the healing of both individual victims of human rights violations and societies in the aftermath of collective violence. The psychoanalytic approach, among the several existing branch of psychotherapy, may not be the first tool that comes to mind to contrast the devastating impact that human rights violations have on individual victims and societies in the aftermath of collective violence. However, a growing number of individual psychoanalysts is taking position on issues surrounding human rights, social justice or even justice, tout court. Analytical societies as well show a progressively growing sensitivity to such themes, mainly because of the ever-growing corpus of theories, literature and appreciation of the impact of trauma on mental functioning and of its transmission across generations. Among the different psychoanalytic approaches, analytical psychology, with its emphasis on and exploration of the collective shadow and the collective unconscious, is particularly relevant: Jung himself commented on how the intertwining between collective shadow and unconscious material altered mass consciousness in a mutually reinforcing spiral with disastrous consequences for individuals and humanity. To assist victims of human rights violations a trans-disciplinary approach is necessary. It presupposes that the knowledge and experience derived from different fields such as psychoanalysis, human rights law, forensic sciences, sociology and politics, be organized around the understanding of complex themes and the construction of meaning: Learning objectives
Evil and Dance/Archetypal Narrative Movement Course Description: Archetypal evil exists as a psychoid complex that can neither be eliminated from nor integrated within the individual psyche. Its obvious presence throughout history reveals not only its persistence as a collective complex, but the unconscious nature of its origins that reveal themselves only in the wake of its destructive path; leaving individuals and entire civilizations to grapple with the trauma and moral injury of horrors that defy words. Archetypal evil drags us to the depths where words are neither possible nor decipherable. When this type of pain enters the room, it silences everything else. In order to work through its aftermath, we must first work with what has the capacity to go more deeply than words. Having personally wrestled with the horrors of WWII, Erich Neumann recognized this when he wrote: “The individual history of every creative man is always close to the abyss of sickness;…His wounds remain open, but his suffering from them is situated in depths from which another curative power arises, and this curative power is the creative process.” While dance is often thought of simply as an art form, as the movement of the dancer’s body, it is movement at a much deeper level. Dance is the transference of psychic energy. It has the capacity to move us on the deepest levels of being, to shift the tectonic plates of the unconscious of both the artist and the audience. To dance is to give expression to that which is not able to be spoken and so must be danced. It exists in the space between symbol and language, in the margins where meaning is more felt than understood, where reality is more experienced than explained. The dancer becomes the vessel for that which transcends speech, transcends conscious thought and like the wind, is visible only as evidenced by what it moves. Dance enables engagement with archetypal energies flowing beneath the level of consciousness. It has the capacity to unlock those frozen with the unspeakable terror of trauma by connecting us with the resilient potency of the creative unconscious. This course will work with a real world case study that looks at dance theater through the lens of depth psychology in order to discover its capacity to effect transformation in both the performer as well as the audience through the transference of psychic energy at an unconscious level. Learning objectives:
Music and Evil: A Sonic Exploration Beyond The Safety of Words Course Description: In this course, we peer through the lens of Archetypal Music Psychotherapy (AMP), which focuses on acoustic symbols and their psychic impacts within our world. We begin with the notion that perception is a creative act, thus implicating us even in our most difficult confrontations. Through this experiential musical exploration, we will encounter a strange place beyond place called the musical interactive field. Similar to the landscape of a dream, fairy tale or myth, the musical field offers multiple levels of relevance where unbearable dissonance and opposition can co-exist without cancelling each other out. Perhaps this sonic imaginal and literal field is like Rumi’s meeting place “out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing” where we can truly dare to encounter the perilous Other. Jung suggests (in Aion) that the nature of good and evil change over time such that our current epoch is a transition point where the Christ and Anti-Christ is in serious conflict. Jung’s Mysterium Coniunctionis suggests that “low grade untransformed desirousness” can be seen as the vicious and persecutory “evil” that results from the lower coniunctio which fails to reach full transformation. We will explore how a musically-oriented analysis tracks this same trajectory (intrapsychically, interpersonally and collectively) through various musical processes within the psychoanalytic consulting room. In our current time, we find ourselves in a seemingly impossible bind where we cannot fully escape the reality of evil out there nor escape its reality within. To simply deny that which is real is to become identical with it, leading to a potentially more dangerous situation through the unconscious projection of archaic defenses and endless compulsive enactments. The musical interactive field offers a resilient transformative vessel and a potential way through this impossible conflict and the tensions that it inevitably brings. If these images spark some life or interest in you, please contribute to this ongoing experiential exploration by joining us as a participant. Learning Objectives:
Evil as Reset: From the Suspension to the End of Certainties Course Overview The lecture delves into a multifaceted exploration of evil through the lens of historical, psychological, and cultural perspectives, anchored by references to Homer, Rosenthal, James Hillman, Simone Weil, and various historical figures and events. The central theme revolves around evil as a divine decree, predetermined and inescapable, possessing an intoxicating allure, and serving as an arena for the carving of legacies. The narrative then transitions to the 20th century, portraying evil as hell and prompting questions about the nature of evil, its prevention, and its enduring presence throughout human history. The lecture delves into the disillusionment and fragility of modern civilizations during WWI, drawing parallels with contemporary challenges and transformations. It explores the loss of dignity and integrity as a pivotal moment marking the end of the “World of Yesterday.” The analysis incorporates perspectives from Paul Valéry, Yeats, Joseph Roth, and the concept of “homo optionis” by sociologist Beck. The discussion expands to the psychological dimensions of evil, emphasizing the intertwining of spirituality, decay, and chaos. The lecture suggests that war may result from the absence of gods or spiritual moorings. The perspectives of Jung, Zweig, and Roth are juxtaposed, questioning the role of God in a post-WWII world. The concept of evil as a psychosocial stance is introduced, with a focus on Jung’s pre-WWI perspective, the inevitability of decay, and the emergence of chaos. The paper then transitions to contemporary contexts, examining the societal shift from modernity to the “age of shocks” and the role of technology as a new deity. The discussion culminates in an exploration of evil as a remedy for unhappiness and a potential reset mechanism. In summary, the lecture weaves together diverse perspectives to construct a comprehensive exploration of evil, encompassing historical, psychological, cultural, and contemporary dimensions. It prompts critical reflections on the enduring nature of conflict, societal transformations, and the intricate interplay of spirituality, decay, and the human psyche. Learning objectives
- 14 Live Interactive Learning Sessions with world recognized Jungian Analysts & Scholars
- 14 Recorded Learning Sessions with world recognized Jungian Analysts & Scholars
- A Learning Resource Guide with links to suggested books, articles, films
- A Private, on-line Discussion Forum
- PGI Graduate Certificate upon successful completion of the course
- 14 CECs* See qualifying criteria for CEs below
- Embark on an intellectually enriching exploration of the concept of evil within the framework of Analytical Psychology, with a specific focus on Archetypal and Complex theories.
- Uncover the profound implications of evil, delving into its multifaceted manifestations, including Gendered Violence, Systemic Racism, Religious Shadow, and Authoritarianism/Colonialism.
- Gain valuable insights into the clinical dimensions and pathways to healing, addressing not only the psychological aspects but also the realm of Human Rights Violations.
- Illuminate the unconscious through transformative modalities such as Sandplay, Dreams analysis, and expressive mediums like Painting/Drawing.
- Explore the therapeutic dimensions of Dance as Archetypal Narrative Movement and Music and delve into the profound and healing aspects of these expressive modalities.
- One 60 minute pre-recorded presentation
- One 90 minute live webinar/discussion/interactive learning session
- Recommended Reading, films, etc.
- Evil as an Autonomous Complex
- Evil as Abuse of The Feminine (Fear of The Feminine)
- Evil as Systemic Racism
- Evil as Religious Shadow
- Evil as Authoritarianism/Colonialism (Original Sin, Evil, and Confession: Truth and Reconciliation of the Colonial Enterprise)
- Analysis in the Shadow of Terror: Clinical Aspects
- Evil as Destructiveness, Atrocities and Healing: Epistemological and Clinical Reflections
- Evil and Painting/Drawing
- Evil and Sandplay: Expressive Sandwork in contexts of war and disruption
- Evil and Fairytales
- Evil and Innocents: Working with Human Rights Violations in Clinical and Community Settings
- Evil and Dance/Archetypal Narrative Movement
- Music and Evil: A Sonic Exploration Beyond The Safety of Words
- Evil as Reset: From the Suspension to the End of Certainties
Evil as an Autonomous Complex Course Overview: Attempts to formulate a psychology of evil founder on the fact that evil does not find enough ground in the psyche alone to allow a logos of its operations to emerge just from psychological analysis. Jung, in his sixties, first fell into this trap when he tried to write about Nazi evil; in his seventies he came to see that not everything he wanted his psychology to clarify could be assumed to belong to psyche simply because it felt like a psychological problem. In 1947, Jung put forward the term “psychoid” to describe what resembled psyche but was not human enough to be part of anyone’s individual or group soul. The psychoid is “-oid,” in the sense of seeming. It only appears to belong to psyche, just as a humanoid creature only appears to be human. Evil’s psychoid nature does not preclude it becoming a complex, but that does not mean that evils belong to a differentiated unitary psyche capable of figuring out evil’s meaning. As an undermining complex that attacks the psyche, evil is devoid of the capacity to organize an integrative psychological standpoint. Evil shatters the capacity of consciousness to contemplate even itself in an introspective or empathic way. Evil thrives on remaining an abstract, extra-human force. In my work with psychological types, I have observed that one of the eight function-attitudes of consciousness that Jung defined tends to claim a demonic space in each of us that is dedicated to unsettling and undermining ourselves and others. Evil functions so stealthily and devilishly as to be untranscendable by any psychological means. It is the transcendent function’s shadow, its evil twin. This section of “When Evil Reigns” will show what is added when we focus on the notorious autonomy of evil and recognize that this independence of psyche is an aspect of evil’s psychoid nature. Learning Objectives
- To clarify the difference between a psychoid and an ordinary complex
- To show how evil undermines psyche by retaining its psychoid nature
- Addison, Ann (2009) Jung, vitalism, and ‘the Psychoid’: a historical reconstruction. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 54, pp. 123-142.
- Ann Addison (2017) Jung’s psychoid concept: a hermeneutical understanding. International Journal of Jungian Studies, 9 (1), 1-16.
- Harald Atmanspacher & Christopher A. Fuchs (eds.) (2014) The Pauli-Jung Conjecture and its Impact Today. Imprint Academic Exeter.
- Beebe, John (2023) Jung’s Dream of the Arab Prince. In Individuation Psychology: Essays in Honor of Murray Stein, Steven Buser & Len Cruz, editors. Asheville, North Carolina: Chiron Publications
- Brooks, Robin McCoy (2011) Un-thought out metaphysics in analytical psychology: a critique of Jung’s epistemological basis for psychic reality. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 56(4):492-513.
- Corbett, Lionel (2024) Jung’s Philosophy: Controversies, Quantum Mechanics, and the Self. London: Routledge.
- Jung, C. G. (various years from 1947 on) CW 8, paras. 368, 417, 439 ; CW 10, para. 852 ; CW 14, para. 660 Letters, vol 2, 1975, p.21-23 & p.317-319.
- Mills, Jon (2014). Jung as philosopher: archetypes, the psychoid factor, and the question of the supernatural. International Journal of Jungian Studies, 6 (3), 227-242.
Evil as Abuse of The Feminine (Fear of The Feminine) Course Overview The trauma of abuse runs deeply in the history of the Western world. I will use Caravaggio’s paintings to illustrate the loss of soul and how the abuse of the feminine perpetrated against women not only creates the fear of the feminine, in Neuman terms, but also alienates the possibility of encountering the Other, not as the contra-sexual other but rather the meeting with the horror that comes from being abused—the freezing of the uncanny that penetrate the psyche. Caravaggio is the painter of the beheading of the Loss of the Soul. Often, the head is his. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was able to represent the moment in which the soul is lost but also Medusa’s with all the snakes around her head. He doesn’t shake in front of evil and can represent the pervasive fear of the abused. War is, of course, the repetition of some abuse, no matter how. Even a defensive war can become a repetition of horror already inflicted. Interestingly in the history of the West, the only movements that changed the vision of the world towards a vision of peace and love were that of mysticism that developed in the tenth century and, more recently, that of the feminist thought of the late twentieth Century. Through the minor art produced by women in the convent and by the beguines in their collective residences, a new vision of a peaceful world was possible. Not the grandiose work of art celebrating wars for power or supremacy, but a simple representation of life in the convents, in the orchards and gardens representation of payer and images of illumination, respect for the other. The feminists put into discussion the patriarchal mythology and, working in the interstitial of the great myths, re-narrated mythology from another point of view, that of the feminine. Learning objectives:
- Art, myths and archetypes explore the shadow and evil in the collective culture and the individual.
- Medusa, after being abused, petrifies all the men that approach her. The Beheading of Caravaggio, his way of drawing, will help to understand how to represent evil in all its brutality as a way to redeem the soul.
- Laughing with Medusa – classical Myth and Feminist Thought. Zajko W., Leonard M. Oxford Univeristy press 2006.
- Queens, Saints, Heretics, Prostitutes. Women in Italy. Caterina Vezzoli in Europe’s Many Souls. Exploring Cultural Complexes and Identities. Edited by Joerg Rasche and Thomas Singer. Spring-JournL, INC. 2016
- Caliban and the Witch. Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation. Silvia Federici. Autonomedia. 2004
- Art in support of life: Caravaggio and the Plague. Caterina Vezzoli. JAP Vol 66, 3, p584-604
- The Newly Born Woman. Ciseaux H., Clement. https://www.docdroid.net/UcRqHry/newlybornw-pdf#page=18
- The Fear of the Feminine. Erich Neumann. Bollingen Series – Princeton University Press. 1994
Evil as Systemic Racism Course Overview In Jungian Reflections on Systemic Racism: Reflections from Members of an American Psychoanalytic Learning Community (Routledge 2023), Carter and Houck, et. al employ major tenents of Jung’s theory of individuation (i.e., the complex, individuation, primitivity, dissociation, projection and recollection) in discussing the impact of unconscious racial bias in Jung’s writings, common interpretations/applications of his paradigm. Jung’s highly innovative method remains efficacious. Carter and Houck propose that the Jungian method is resourceful in grappling with personal and systemic impacts of racism. In this course, Evil and Systemic Racism, Houck and Carter draw largely from their contributions to Jungian Reflections on Systemic Racism to examine pejorative othering through intrapsychic and inter-relational lenses, creating dialogue by first identifying under-addressed attitudes and behaviors such as analytic anonymity or analytic neutrality that may may promote barriers to inclusivity through unconscious enactments. In exploring white-body supremacy trauma (Menakem 2017) and the attitude of white supremacy (Carter 2023) in analytic psychology, Houck and Carter utilize Jungian analytic theory to promote empathic discussions that exemplify a psychoanalytic method of deconstructing systematized and systemic racism within Jungian theory. In doing so, they employ the specificity and ingenuity of Jung’s analytic paradigm to offer insight into the work of anti-racism from a depth psychological perspective. Attendees of Evil and Systemic Racism will explore how a community might work toward greater consciousness by using its own method to critique and advance its paradigm, promoting greater inclusivity within its training programs and clincial practices. Evil and Systemic Racism is a course that is suitable for the public, mental health and medical professionals, sociologists, and all those interested in the wide impact of the unscientific construct, ‘race’. This course is open to anyone interested in the work of C. G. Jung (working with terror and trauma). Lay persons as well as professionals are welcome. Learning objectives
- To explore a Jungian understanding of the relation of evil to ‘race;
- To understand the concepts of race and white supremacy from the perspective of archetypes and the collective unconscious;
- To ponder how clincial practices may inadvertently implicate the analyst in the present-day systematization of racializing.
- Carter, C. J. and Houck, Tiffany, eds. (2023). Jungian Reflections on Systemic Racism: Members of an American Psychoanalytic Community on Training, Practice and Inclusivity (Routledge 2023).
- Videotaped podcast: ‘Tiffany and Christopher’ (12 Oct. 2023). Rendering Unconscious, Episode RU265. Dr. Vanessa Sinclair, host. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p8vE3DeeJ4 [53:04 min.].
- Brewster, F. (2019). The Racial Complex: A Jungian Perspective on Culture and Race. London and New York: Routledge.
- Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Nevada: Central Recovery Press.
- Morgan, H. (2021). The Work of Whiteness: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. New York: Routledge.
- Singer, T. and Kimbles, S. L., eds. (2004). The Cultural Complex: Contemporary Jungian Perspectives on Psyche and Society. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
- Kimbles, Samuel (2021). Intergenerational Complexes in Analytical Psychology: The Suffering of Ghosts. London and New York: Routledge.
The Evil Shadow Of Religion Course overview This course will discuss six ways in which religions cause a great deal of evil. One is the result of religious narcissism, the notion that a particular tradition is superior to all the others, and only that tradition is a path to salvation. The second is the level of violence fostered by religious traditions, while the third is the remarkable level of misogyny found in the theistic traditions. The fourth is the way in which human psychological needs for power and domination are projected onto the theistic image of God. The fifth is the mythology of the End Times, which will lead to a violent confrontation of good and evil, while the sixth is the tendency towards masochism fostered by some traditions. Religion can be used in the service of maintaining or enhancing the adherent’s self-esteem, or to feel superior and special. In part this occurs by insisting on the primacy of a particular sacred text, in part by insisting that its adherents have a special connection to God, using phrases such as “saved” or “chosen.” Many human narcissistic needs are projected onto the image of God in the Hebrew Bible, resulting in a God-image characteristic of borderline psychopathology. In Christianity, deviation from official doctrine led to murderous violence against nonbelievers. Religious violence is a sometimes a feature of religious doctrine, not a perversion of it, as if “God wills it.” Warfare has long been associated with religion, and violence can easily be spiritualized, sometimes motivated by apocalyptic fantasies about who will be the elect and who will be saved. Misogyny and the fear of women are disguised by religious teachings and sacred texts. This problem permeated the Bible and the Abrahamic traditions. Moral masochism is also disguised as necessary suffering in the service of a transcendent goal. Learning Objectives: (Pending updates) Biography Dr. Lionel Corbett trained in medicine and psychiatry in England and as a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of seven books: Psyche and the sacred: The religious function of the psyche; The sacred cauldron: Psychotherapy as a spiritual practice; The soul in anguish: Psychotherapeutic approaches to suffering; Understanding Evil: A guide for psychotherapists, and The God-image: From antiquity to Jung. His latest book is: Jung’s philosophy, controversies, quantum mechanics, and the Self. He is the co-editor of four volumes of collected papers: Psyche’s Stories; Depth psychology, meditations in the field; Psychology at the threshold; and Jung and aging. Contact email: corb@pacifica.edu Recommended reading lists (Pending updates) Alan Vaughn (US) 29TH JUNE
Evil as Authoritarianism/Colonialism (Original Sin, Evil, and Confession: Truth and Reconciliation of the Colonial Enterprise) Course Overview From the archetypal perspective, this seminar addresses the subject of Evil as an Original Sin, expressed as shadow phenomena and negative aspects of the Trickster archetype in individual and group psyche, and collective group governance structures. Perspectivism is foundational to the analysis and discussion along with dialectical considerations of Good as the counterpoint to Evil, represented in the archetype of Justice. The archetypal perspective of Good is amplified in Kemetic – Egyptian mythology and cultural complexes. The presentation and discussion include: The archetypes of Culture, the Trickster, and Justice; Pan European and American cultural complexes in the protocols for the colonial enterprise; the example of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), encoding colonization into the canons of European International law; the African Diaspora emerging from the Cultural Unconscious and the African Cultural Unconscious; reference to Pan African Liberation Movements for freedoms and against colonialism and domestic apartheid; the U.S. Civil Rights Movement against violence, terror, and murder particular to American apartheid; and the current Culture wars, as a retrenchment of racism, the pathogen infecting current U.S. Constitutional Jurisprudence, psyche, and systems in the U.S. Political Economy. We conclude with consideration of Jung’s recommended stages of treatment for psychopathology. Learning Objectives:
- Knowledge of the Archetypal and dialectical perspectives expressed in concepts of Evil and Justice in theories of Analytical psychology and comparative mythology.
- Knowledge of Colonialism and Pan European Colonization protocols, specific to the Africa Region.
- Knowledge of Domestic apartheid and the psychopathology of racism.
- Knowledge of Movements for liberation and against the psychopathology of racism and colonialism.
- Budge, E.W. (1969). The Gods of the Egyptians, studies in Egyptian mythology.
- New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
- Bynum, E.B. (1999). The African unconscious, roots of ancient mysticism and modern psychology.
- New York and London: Teachers College Press.
- Gomez, M. (2020). Reversing sail, a history of the African Diaspora, (2ed).
- Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Henderson, J. (1903). Cultural attitudes in psychological perspective. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books.
- Hopcke, R. (1989). A guided tour of The Collected Works of C. G. Jung.
- Boston: Shambhala.
- Jung, C.G. (1973). Answer to Job, (From the Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 11, Psychology of Religion West, and East). Bollingen Series XX, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Stein M. (Ed), (1995): Encountering Jung on Evil. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Vaughan, A. (2021). Phenomenology of the Trickster archetype, U.S. electoral politics and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Journal of Analytical Psychology (JAP), Vol. 66, #3 June 2021
- Vaughan, A (2020). Every voice and every vote counts. In Thomas Singer ( Ed), Cultural Complexes and the Soul of America, myth, psyche, and politics. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- Vaughan, A. (2020) Humanity and inhumanity: Relational themes in Humanistic – Existential psychology and multiculturalism in U.S. Constitutional Jurisprudence and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In (Hoffman, Cleary- Hoffman, St. John, (Eds). Humanistic Approaches to Multiculturalism and Diversity. New York and London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
- Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
- Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. President and Fellow of Harvard 600 U.S.181 (2023)
- Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina (2023)
Analysis in the Shadow of Terror: Clinical Aspects Course Overview This presentation focuses on the impact of terror on the analytical situation in Israel, especially holding the temenos, dreams, and the therapeutic relationship. The lecture draws on the pioneering work of Jung and Erich Neumann. Special attention is given to my work with Palestinian patients. It also gives case material of others directed effected by trauma. It begins with active imagination and goes on to discuss conscious and unconscious fantasies concerning safety, who is the enemy and the nature of evil, both personal and archetypal. Although clinical details come from Israel, I believe that many of the phenomena can be applied to terror situations elsewhere. Given the ubiquitous nature of terror and violence, it is vital to understand its dynamic and how it effects practice of analysis. Learning objectives
- To understand the Jungian perspective on the nature of evil, trauma and terror
- To understand the impact of terror situation on analysis, dreamwork, therapeutic relationship and in cultural context in Israel.
- Murray Stein & Henry Abramovitch, The Analyst and Rabbi – A Play Asheville, North Carolina: Chiron Publications. 2019. The play is based on historic meeting between CG Jung and his old friend Rabbi Leo Baeck, who accuses him of antisemitism. The play itself can be seen via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsAMVbRYaGA
- Murray Stein (Ed.). 2023. The Shadow and the Problem of Evil: Five Examinations. Chiron Publications. Especially Ch. 1,5.
- John Beebe (2003). Terror, Violence and the Impulse to Destroy: Perspectives from Analytical Psychology. Daimon.
- Henry Abramovitch (2016). ‘The Search for a New Ethic: Professional and Clinical Dilemmas’ in Turbulent Times, Creative Minds: Erich Neumann and C.G. Jung in Relationship (1933-1960). Edited by Erel Shalit & Murray Stein. Chiron Publications. pp.167-184.
Evil as Destructiveness, Atrocities and Healing: Epistemological and Clinical Reflections Course Overview: Manifestations of destructiveness and of wider phenomena, of what I term Severe Forms of Collective Adversity, are so pervasive and have such multidimensional impact on our lives that it is difficult to create a vantage point from where to appropriately examine them. Moreover, due to their very nature (which combines highly emotional states with the raw concreteness of their destructive effects, along with the urgent need to address their harmful consequences), such phenomena tend to overwhelm us. In turn, when we are overwhelmed, our capacity for processing not only our perceptions of events and circumstances around us but also our own very experiences becomes impaired. Then, with diminished capacity to process, we tend to lose clarity, weakening our ability to discern complexity. Ultimately, without the facility to grasp complexity, we are prone to oversimplified and polarised perceptions of such highly complex phenomena. In my presentation, creatively using extensions of Jungian insights, I will present and discuss a framework that can be used to identify complexities such as, in addition to their negative effects, catastrophic events also provide opportunities for certain forms of transformative individuation. This innovative framework, which has a proven applicability, emphasises the pivotal relevance of epistemological processes that take place during such attempts at comprehending these multifaceted phenomena. Specific attention is going to be given to the meaning of archetypal epistemology. I will argue that the main (and neglected) Jungian contribution to our understanding of destructiveness is in terms of discerning the relevance of archetypal epistemology, i.e. the impact that archetypal influences have on the way we form our very presuppositions in encountering such phenomena of Severe Forms of Collective Adversity. Learning objectives:
- To become aware of the complexity and multifaceted nature of destructiveness without reducing it to simplistic theorisation.
- To become aware of typical epistemological errors and traps whenever we encounter phenomena of Severe Forms of Collective Adversity
- To appreciate the importance of epistemological rigour and epistemological flexibility in approaching phenomena of destructiveness, and, more specifically, of the usefulness of employing archetypal epistemology in such endeavours.
- Jung, C. G. (1928). The Swiss line in the European spectrum. CW 10.
- Jung, C.G. (1943). Psychotherapy and a philosophy of life. CW 16.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (1997). Individual identity and collective narratives of conflict. Harvest: Journal for Jungian Studies, 43, 2, 7–26.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (1998) Destructiveness, atrocities and healing: Epistemological and clinical reflections. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 43, 455–477.
- Papadopoulos, R. (1999). Working with Bosnian medical evacuees and their families: Therapeutic dilemmas. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 4(1), 107–120.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (2000). Factionalism and interethnic conflict: narratives in myth and politics. In Singer, T. (Ed.) The Vision Thing. Myth, Politics and Psyche in the World. London and New York: Routledge.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (2002). Refugees, home and trauma. In Papadopoulos , R.K. (Ed.) Therapeutic Care for Refugees. No Place Like Home. London: Karnac. Tavistock Clinic Series.
- Papadopoulos, R. K. (2005). Political violence, trauma and mental health interventions. In Kalmanowitz, D. & Lloyd, B. (Eds.) Art Therapy and Political Violence. With Art, Without Illusion. London: Brunner-Routledge.
- Papadopoulos, R. K. (2006). Terrorism and panic. Psychotherapy and Politics International, Vol. 4 Number 2, 90-100.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (2007). Refugees, Trauma and Adversity-Activated Development. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, 9 (3), 301-312.
- Papadopoulos, R. K. (2010). Extending Jungian Psychology. Working with survivors of political upheavals. In Heuer, G. (Ed.) Sacral Revolutions: Cutting Edges in Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis. London: Routledge.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (2018). Trauma and Umwelt. An Archetypal Framework for Humanitarian Interventions. In Maercker, A., Heim, E. & Kirmayer, L.J. (Eds.) Cultural Clinical Psychology and PTSD. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (Ed.) (2020). Moral Injury and Beyond. Understanding Human Anguish and Healing Traumatic Wounds. London and New York: Routledge.
- Papadopoulos R.K. (2021a). Involuntary Dislocation: Home, Trauma, Resilience and Adversity-Activated Development. London & New York: Routledge.
- Papadopoulos R.K. (2021b). The approach of Synergic Therapeutic Complexity with Involuntarily Dislocated people. Systemic Thinking & Psychotherapy. Issue 18; April.
- Papadopoulos R.K. (2021c). Families migrating together. In Bhugra, D. (Ed.) The Oxford Textbook of Migrant Psychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Papadopoulos R.K. (2022) Therapeutic Complexity. In Maloney, C., Nelki, J. and Summers, A. (Eds.) Seeking Asylum and Mental Health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Papadopoulos, R.K. (in press). Destructiveness, complexity and archetypal epistemology: Critical reflections. In Carpani, S. (Ed.) War as Reset. London and New Year: Routledge.
- Papadopoulos, R. K. & Gionakis, N. (2018). The neglected complexities of refugee fathers. Psychotherapy and Politics International, 16(1).
- Papadopoulos, R. K. & Hildebrand, J. (1997). Is home where the heart is? Narratives of oppositional discourses in refugee families. In Papadopoulos, R.K. & Byng-Hall, J. (Eds.) Multiple Voices; Narrative in Systemic Family Psychotherapy. London: Duckworth.
Evil and Painting/Drawing Course Overview Evil is obviously part of mankind, otherwise it could not spread in the world in so many different ways: “One must be positively blind not to see the colossal role that evil plays in the world. Indeed, it took the intervention of God himself to deliver humanity from the curse of evil, for without his intervention man would have been lost.” C.G. Jung, CW 9 II, § 114 We are currently experiencing its violent grimace on a collective level in the most diverse hotspots of war, of which I would only like to mention Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Palestinians. The responsible warmongers are obviously under the dominance of the negative masculine, which wants to exercise power and achieve problematic victories at the cost of the lives of many of its fighting young men and women. There is also little regard for the suffering of the civilian population. The effects of such an irresponsible and destructive policy can be devastating on a psychological level, even for people who are not directly exposed to war, especially if a negative, dominant father complex and a weak mother complex are present. I would like to illustrate this with the example of two female analysands, women in their best years, who grew up in very different civilizations, but who both initially reacted to the hotspots of war with a state of shock. We will delve into at least two of the paintings of my two analysands. They reflect the feeling of complete powerlessness and numbness as well as the struggle for inner stability and the constellation of self-healing powers and hope. Learning objectives:
- The relieving, transforming and ultimately healing effect of painting will be illustrated in this lecture.
- It will also become clear: where words are lacking, feelings can be expressed with colors.
- Christie, Agatha: Evil Under the Sun
- Jung, Carl Gustav: Aion. Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Collected works 9 II, §§ 19, 114, 170.
- Jung, Carl Gustav: Psychological Types Collected works 6, §§ 314, 315, 318, 319, 389
- Lorenz, Konrad: The So-Called Evil.
Evil and Sandplay: Expressive Sandwork in contexts of war and disruption Course Overview In this course, we will delve into the psyche’s inherent ability and resolve to self-regulate through the creation of images and narratives, especially when offered a “free and protected space” – a concept pioneered by Dora Kalff, the founder of Sandplay Therapy. I will showcase a diverse array of examples from sandwork projects conducted in Ukraine and Colombia, demonstrating how a sandbox and a curated collection of miniatures can serve as valuable tools in trauma treatment. Emphasizing a non-directive and resource-oriented approach, these examples will illuminate the efficacy of this therapeutic method. Throughout the course, we will closely examine sandwork processes employed with children facing extreme situations, where themes of evil, adversity, and abuse loom large. By analyzing these instances, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the profound impact that sandplay therapy can have in fostering healing and resilience in challenging circumstances. Learning objectives:
- Improving the capacity to observe unconscious expressions and especially understand symbolic play of children.
- Recognizing self-regulatory tendencies of the psyche in sandplay processes.
- Recognizing contra-transference reactions, while assisting the child’s play.
- Eva Pattis Zoja: Sandplay Therapy in Vulnerable Communities, Routledge 2001.
- Eva Pattis Zoja: Where Soul meets Matter (II.. Part), Chiron 2018
- Renos Papadopoulos, Involuntary Dislocation, Home, Trauma, Resilience and Adversity Activated Development, Routledge 2021.
- Ursula Wirtz: Trauma and Beyond, the Mystery of Transformation, Spring 2014
Evil and Fairytales Course Overview: Fairy tales describe archetypal patterns and thus collective unconscious processes that operate behind zeitgeist phenomena. They deepen our understanding of contemporary social phenomena. Due to the increasing worldwide tensions and polarizations, including military conflicts, we want to start this seminar by addressing the collective shadow that we usually refer to as the devil. Fairy tales can show us what kind of attitude and behavior is needed in order not to be destroyed by this dark power. To understand war and destructiveness, it is also worth looking at fairy tales without happy endings. They can teach us which archetypal patterns pave the way of destructive developments. Learning objectives:
- To gain a better understanding of the psychodynamic background of brutality, destruction and sadism.
- To recognize where and which helpful potentials and resources are to be found in the confrontation with the evil.
- Franz, M.-L.v. (1974). Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales. Zürich: Spring.
- Jacoby, M. ,Kast, V., Riedel, I. (1992) Witches, Ogres and the Devil’s daughter. Shambala.
- Birkhäuser-Oeri, S. (1988). The Mother: Archetypal Image in Fairy Tales. Toronto: Inner City.
- Dieckmann, H. (1986). Twice-Told Tales: The Psychological Use of Fairy Tales. Wilmette: Chiron.
- Franz, M.L. v. (1996), The Interpretation of Fairy Tales. (Revised ed.) Boston and London: Shambhala
- Franz, M.-L.v. (1972). Problems of the Feminine in Fairy Tales. New York: Spring.
- Franz, M.-L.v. (1997) Archetypal Patterns in Fairy tales,
- Kast, V. (1995): Folktales as Therapy. Fromm, New York.
Evil and Innocents: Working with Human Rights Violations in Clinical and Community Settings Course Overview Learning objectives: 1) how analytical psychology helps in understanding the profoundly human, social and political issues that contribute to human rights violations; and 2) how analytical psychology is an effective therapeutic tool for the healing of both individual victims of human rights violations and societies in the aftermath of collective violence. The psychoanalytic approach, among the several existing branch of psychotherapy, may not be the first tool that comes to mind to contrast the devastating impact that human rights violations have on individual victims and societies in the aftermath of collective violence. However, a growing number of individual psychoanalysts is taking position on issues surrounding human rights, social justice or even justice, tout court. Analytical societies as well show a progressively growing sensitivity to such themes, mainly because of the ever-growing corpus of theories, literature and appreciation of the impact of trauma on mental functioning and of its transmission across generations. Among the different psychoanalytic approaches, analytical psychology, with its emphasis on and exploration of the collective shadow and the collective unconscious, is particularly relevant: Jung himself commented on how the intertwining between collective shadow and unconscious material altered mass consciousness in a mutually reinforcing spiral with disastrous consequences for individuals and humanity. To assist victims of human rights violations a trans-disciplinary approach is necessary. It presupposes that the knowledge and experience derived from different fields such as psychoanalysis, human rights law, forensic sciences, sociology and politics, be organized around the understanding of complex themes and the construction of meaning: Learning objectives
- The purpose of the course is broaden our understanding of the impact of human rights violations on individuals and society and of our capacity to sustain and facilitate their healing through the tools that Jungian psychoanalyst have at their disposal.
- In detail, we will try to answer the following questions: how are certain horrors possible? Is it possible to contribute to their understanding? What happens to an individual during and after being victim of a human rights violations? How societies react in ignoring, being complicit or, on the contrary, attempting to redress such crimes? How can a Jungian psychoanalyst support individual victims, and through them, society to survive, elaborate, integrate and give a personal meaning to the horror?
- ARENDT, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem – A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Viking Press.
- BIANCHI, M.G. (2020). Il potere curativo della giustizia: un’esplorazione dei rapporti tra psicologia analitica e diritti umani. Polis e psiche: politica e prospettive analitiche nella contemporaneità. Studi Junghiani, 26(2), 38–52.
- BIANCHI, M.G. (2023). Victims of Enforced Disappearances: Absent Bodies, Inner Presences. Journal of Analytical Psychology, Apr, 68(2), pp. 327-336. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5922.12901
- BIANCHI, M.G. (2024). “Memories of enforced disappearance: Psychological need and political aim” in BIANCHI, M.G., & LUCI, M. (eds.) (2024) Psychoanalytic, Psychosocial, and Human Rights Perspectives on Enforced Disappearance. London: Routledge.
- BIANCHI, M.G., & LUCI, M. (eds.) (2024) Psychoanalytic, Psychosocial, and Human Rights Perspectives on Enforced Disappearance. London: Routledge.
- CITRONI G., SCOVAZZI T., (2007), The Struggle against Enforced Disappearance and the 2007 United Nations Convention, Leiden, Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
- DAUD A., SKOGLUND E., RYDELIUS P., (2005), “Children in families of torture victims: transgenerational transmission of parents’ traumatic experiences to their children”, International Journal of Social Welfare, 14, 23-32.
- KALSHED D. (1996), The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defences of the Personal Spirit, London and New York: Routledge.
- KALSHED D. (2013), Trauma and the Soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption, London and New York: Routledge.
Evil and Dance/Archetypal Narrative Movement Course Description: Archetypal evil exists as a psychoid complex that can neither be eliminated from nor integrated within the individual psyche. Its obvious presence throughout history reveals not only its persistence as a collective complex, but the unconscious nature of its origins that reveal themselves only in the wake of its destructive path; leaving individuals and entire civilizations to grapple with the trauma and moral injury of horrors that defy words. Archetypal evil drags us to the depths where words are neither possible nor decipherable. When this type of pain enters the room, it silences everything else. In order to work through its aftermath, we must first work with what has the capacity to go more deeply than words. Having personally wrestled with the horrors of WWII, Erich Neumann recognized this when he wrote: “The individual history of every creative man is always close to the abyss of sickness;…His wounds remain open, but his suffering from them is situated in depths from which another curative power arises, and this curative power is the creative process.” While dance is often thought of simply as an art form, as the movement of the dancer’s body, it is movement at a much deeper level. Dance is the transference of psychic energy. It has the capacity to move us on the deepest levels of being, to shift the tectonic plates of the unconscious of both the artist and the audience. To dance is to give expression to that which is not able to be spoken and so must be danced. It exists in the space between symbol and language, in the margins where meaning is more felt than understood, where reality is more experienced than explained. The dancer becomes the vessel for that which transcends speech, transcends conscious thought and like the wind, is visible only as evidenced by what it moves. Dance enables engagement with archetypal energies flowing beneath the level of consciousness. It has the capacity to unlock those frozen with the unspeakable terror of trauma by connecting us with the resilient potency of the creative unconscious. This course will work with a real world case study that looks at dance theater through the lens of depth psychology in order to discover its capacity to effect transformation in both the performer as well as the audience through the transference of psychic energy at an unconscious level. Learning objectives:
- Participants will be able to explain dance as a vehicle for accessing and working with both the unconscious dynamics of trauma and the resilient force of the creative unconscious
- Participants will be able to identify four key principles in working with the psychoid and unconscious nature of archetypal evil through the art form of dance.
- Neumann, E. (1959). Art and the Creative Unconscious: Four Essays. New York: Pantheon.
- Jung, C.G. (1949). Psychology of the Unconscious. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
- Jung, C.G. (1966). The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature. Bollingen: Princeton University Press.
- Herman, J.L. (1992) Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books
- Van den Berk, Tjeu. (2012) Jung on Art: The Autonomy of the Creative Drive. New York: Routledge.
- Graham, Martha. (1991) Blood Memory. New York: DoubleDay.
- Thompson, Barbara E. and Neimeyer, Robert A. (2014) Grief and the Expressive Arts. New York: Routledge.
Music and Evil: A Sonic Exploration Beyond The Safety of Words Course Description: In this course, we peer through the lens of Archetypal Music Psychotherapy (AMP), which focuses on acoustic symbols and their psychic impacts within our world. We begin with the notion that perception is a creative act, thus implicating us even in our most difficult confrontations. Through this experiential musical exploration, we will encounter a strange place beyond place called the musical interactive field. Similar to the landscape of a dream, fairy tale or myth, the musical field offers multiple levels of relevance where unbearable dissonance and opposition can co-exist without cancelling each other out. Perhaps this sonic imaginal and literal field is like Rumi’s meeting place “out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing” where we can truly dare to encounter the perilous Other. Jung suggests (in Aion) that the nature of good and evil change over time such that our current epoch is a transition point where the Christ and Anti-Christ is in serious conflict. Jung’s Mysterium Coniunctionis suggests that “low grade untransformed desirousness” can be seen as the vicious and persecutory “evil” that results from the lower coniunctio which fails to reach full transformation. We will explore how a musically-oriented analysis tracks this same trajectory (intrapsychically, interpersonally and collectively) through various musical processes within the psychoanalytic consulting room. In our current time, we find ourselves in a seemingly impossible bind where we cannot fully escape the reality of evil out there nor escape its reality within. To simply deny that which is real is to become identical with it, leading to a potentially more dangerous situation through the unconscious projection of archaic defenses and endless compulsive enactments. The musical interactive field offers a resilient transformative vessel and a potential way through this impossible conflict and the tensions that it inevitably brings. If these images spark some life or interest in you, please contribute to this ongoing experiential exploration by joining us as a participant. Learning Objectives:
- Participants will increase their knowledge about Jung’s conception of Evil and how it’s inevitable conflicts (intrapsychically, interpersonally and collectively) can be approached through musical processes within and outside of analytical psychology.
- Kroeker, Joel. (2019). Jungian music psychotherapy: When Psyche sings. Routledge.
- Stein, Murray. (1996). “Jung on evil.” Encountering Jung.
- Von Franz, M. L. (2017). Shadow and evil in fairy tales: Revised edition. Shambhala Publications.
- Zweig, C., & Abrams, J. (1991). Meeting the shadow: The hidden power of the dark side of human nature. Penguin.
Evil as Reset: From the Suspension to the End of Certainties Course Overview The lecture delves into a multifaceted exploration of evil through the lens of historical, psychological, and cultural perspectives, anchored by references to Homer, Rosenthal, James Hillman, Simone Weil, and various historical figures and events. The central theme revolves around evil as a divine decree, predetermined and inescapable, possessing an intoxicating allure, and serving as an arena for the carving of legacies. The narrative then transitions to the 20th century, portraying evil as hell and prompting questions about the nature of evil, its prevention, and its enduring presence throughout human history. The lecture delves into the disillusionment and fragility of modern civilizations during WWI, drawing parallels with contemporary challenges and transformations. It explores the loss of dignity and integrity as a pivotal moment marking the end of the “World of Yesterday.” The analysis incorporates perspectives from Paul Valéry, Yeats, Joseph Roth, and the concept of “homo optionis” by sociologist Beck. The discussion expands to the psychological dimensions of evil, emphasizing the intertwining of spirituality, decay, and chaos. The lecture suggests that war may result from the absence of gods or spiritual moorings. The perspectives of Jung, Zweig, and Roth are juxtaposed, questioning the role of God in a post-WWII world. The concept of evil as a psychosocial stance is introduced, with a focus on Jung’s pre-WWI perspective, the inevitability of decay, and the emergence of chaos. The paper then transitions to contemporary contexts, examining the societal shift from modernity to the “age of shocks” and the role of technology as a new deity. The discussion culminates in an exploration of evil as a remedy for unhappiness and a potential reset mechanism. In summary, the lecture weaves together diverse perspectives to construct a comprehensive exploration of evil, encompassing historical, psychological, cultural, and contemporary dimensions. It prompts critical reflections on the enduring nature of conflict, societal transformations, and the intricate interplay of spirituality, decay, and the human psyche. Learning objectives
- The lecture weaves together diverse perspectives to construct a comprehensive exploration of evil, encompassing historical, psychological, cultural, and contemporary dimensions.
- The Lecture prompts critical reflections on the enduring nature of evil, conflict, societal transformations, and the intricate interplay of spirituality, decay, and the human psyche.
- Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity.
- Beck, U., and Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2002). Individualization: Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences. London: Sage.
- Beebe, J. and Carpani, S., (2023). “An Epistolary Conversation”, in the Journal of Analytical Psychology, 2023, 68, 4, 638–664. Co-Editors-in-Chief: Carolyn Bates and Arthur Niesser. Oxford: Wiley Publishing
- Carpani, S., (2024). Absolute Freedom London: Routledge
- Roth, J., (2013). The Radetzky March. Granta Books
- Schnitzler, A. (2011). Traumnovelle. Kindle
- Zweig, S., (2013). The World of Yesterday. University of Nebraska Press.
Program Details
Dates
April 20th – November 30th, 2024
All Live Sessions will run on Saturdays from 8:00 – 9:30 AM PST Or 4:00 – 5:30 PM GMT.Registration Fees
- $695.00 – Pacifica Student Rate
- $895.00 – Pacifica Alumni, Full Time Students, & Senior Rate
- $1095.00 – General Rate
- $30 – Continuing Education Credits (14 CECHours)
