In the original telling of the myth, Medusa was portrayed as a beautiful maiden transformed into a Gorgon by the goddess Athena as a form of punishment and revenge.  Conversely, contemporary interpretations of the myth tend to focus on Medusa as a symbol of female rage in response to being wronged, highlighting her empowerment and challenging patriarchal narratives that punish women for their autonomy.  In this seminar, we will examine the archetypal and symbolic aspects of Medusa in both ancient and contemporary times from a clinical perspective, including helping patients identify and find new strategies for dealing with feelings of repressed anger, envy, loss of autonomy, trauma, and violence on both the personal and collective levels.

Learning objectives:

• Compare the ways in which the character of Medusa is portrayed as a victim vs a more contemporary reading of Medusa as a symbol of empowerment.
• Give a clinical example of using the myth of Medusa as a means of helping patients identify and express repressed anger around physical and/or emotional abuse, specifically around men's violence towards women.