“Since psyche and matter are contained in one and the same world… it is not only possible but fairly probable…that psyche and matter are two different aspects of one and the same thing.”
C.G. Jung CW vol VIII P. 215.
We are fascinated by the process of psychotherapy. Since its inception in 46 AD with the Asclepiads, we have experienced treatment as truly transformative, good enough, or utterly disastrous. The pioneers in the field have sought to understand something of those inherent, archetypal processes which create conditions for healing, occurring within one of the most perplexing and transformative relationships humanity has ever known. This therapeutic relationship is inexorably entwined in psyche’s dance, choreographed for the purpose of manifesting archetypal dynamics into matter. Here the client-therapist relationship becomes the canvas upon which Psyche paints its story. Now, as the archetype begins to literally structure the form evolving in the therapeutic relationship, the process begins and if not understood, we find an endless series of painful recreations of past troubles. However, if understood, the mystery of healing begins. Such is the responsibility thrust on the therapist’s shoulders in this process.
While we often think of the therapeutic ground rules and conditions of treatment as some outdated set of guidelines, they are in fact archetypal energetic centers drawing the transpersonal drama into the therapeutic field. Here the archetypal devouring mother or father, the Puer or Puella, as well as the manic and other forms of defenses are expressed and re-created by the very conditions of treatment. Through presentations and actual supervision of participant’s clinical work, we will discuss ways to understand how these archetypal constellations are re-created and lived within the client-therapist relationship.
Themes to be addressed during the conference:
- The archetypal dimensions of treatment.
- An archetypal understanding of transference and countertransference.
- Learning to recognize the manifestation of archetypal dynamics within the client-therapist interactional field.
- Learning how to understand and translate The Voice of Psyche, as presented through unconscious communication, and unconscious perception.
- Learning to understand the meaning of these interactional dynamics and unconscious communications, as well as ways to create meaningful responses to them.
- Learning to discern the presence of trauma through: images, therapeutic interactions and unconscious communication.