Jungian Art Therapy was written as an invitation to those students of Jung who might become better acquainted with his ideas about the structure of the psyche through the image, and the process of its creation. In this presentation I will consider Jung’s view that “psyche is image”, and that his notion of “the third thing” is integral to Jungian art therapy. While working in his Red Book, Jung’s use of art materials provided a deliberate and active alchemical engagement with the material world that opened the gates for the unconscious, for dialogues with inner figures, and to reconnect with his soul. In my view, the process and these products are not art in the traditional sense. Hidden behind these images we find Jung’s deep intimacy with the unconscious that grew out of tormented confrontations, and his relationship to ancient and prophetic mysteries. Jung’s prescient clarity, first explored in The Transcendent Function, highlights his profound conceptualization of unique and powerful ways that the invisible becomes visible. The products from the unconscious are not ‘just art’ nor are they ‘just symbolic’—to hold this view misunderstands Jung’s depth of lived experiences that he worked through in his active imaginations. Instead, this inner work with the image is concerned with psychic energy and the requisite to honor the living symbol as a reality. While many understand that Jung’s intimacy with the unconscious was the foundation for the expressive arts, influencing some aspects of analysis and psychotherapy, surprisingly art therapists are often trained by teachers who have not been exposed to Jung’s ideas, nor how he intersected with the ancestral roots of art therapy. Finally, images created by students and analysands will be used to illustrate “the third thing” or various states of expression and explorations.
If you are planning on attending, we ask that you contact Robin McCoy Brooks robinmccoybrooks@gmail.com as soon as possible to register.
