We Now Have a Tool to Navigate the Length and Breadth of the Human Psyche
5 consecutive Mondays | 7:00 – 8:30pm UTC-5
In this course we will take up one of the most startling, challenging, and creative statements in all of psychology. The Jungian psychologist Yoram Kaufmann, (author of The Way of the Image, the Orientational Approach to the Psyche), studied Jung’s ideas with utmost care and precision, and, deeply inspired, said he “crystallized” Jung’s ideas in a useful and practical condensed form. He called this new form “the orientational approach” and said the orientational approach, properly understood, gives us a way to comprehend all forms of psychological expression. In summarizing his findings, Dr. Kaufmann made an extraordinary capsule statement that was seen by some as contentious and startling, and by others as profoundly innovative and liberating:
“All in all, the orientational approach allows one to navigate the length and breadth of the psyche.”
In this course we will test Jung’s and Kaufmann’s ideas against what we most want to learn about our own lives: what can we learn that’s new about psychological health and well-being, about relationships, about work and self-expression, about dreams, and about the therapeutic process? We will apply the “orientational approach” to each of those topics, while keeping an eye on what we can learn about the “length and breadth” of the human psyche.
Readings will consist of handouts of excerpts from the work of Jung and Marie-Louise Von Franz. Students are requested to have their own copy of The Way of the Image which is available in book form at the C.G. Jung Foundation Book Service and Amazon and as an e-book from Amazon.