The Stand By The Mother lecture series is a humanitarian and psychological initiative developed by Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi, a training analyst and supervisor with credentials from GAP, UKCP, and IAAP. This online series serves as an essential bridge between the theoretical depths of Jungian psychology and active solidarity, specifically providing vital support for mothers in Palestine who are navigating unprecedented hardship. In the opening lecture, Dr. John Beebe explores the Creatura, a concept famously reintroduced by Jung in his 1916 work, The Seven Sermons to the Dead. Written as a series of active imaginations attributed to Basilides of Alexandria and later included in the “Scrutinies” section of The Red Book, the Creatura represents the living, created world that is distinct from the Pleroma—the void where all opposites are extinguished. As Jung emphasises in the second sermon, the Pleroma has no qualities, but the Creatura is defined by distinctiveness; the series posits that depth psychology can only adequately address global suffering, such as that experienced in conflict zones, if we rediscover this connection to the inherent dignity of the “creaturely” experience. You can access a complete audio-visual performance of Jung’s 1916 text, essential for understanding the distinctions between the Pleroma and the Creatura. Also see this analysis Sermon II focusing on explaining the metaphysical pole of the Creatura through a concept-by-concept breakdown.

The series is informed by Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi’s background as a body-psychotherapist and graduate of the Marion Woodman Foundation, which brings an embodied approach to these complex archetypal themes. Her recent contributions to the field, including the 2025 IAAP article Amplification, revisit Jung’s clinical method of symbolic expansion to address trauma. Furthermore, her recent appearance at the 2025 Jungianeum Biennale during the Democracy on the Couch segment highlighted the “forgotten self” within the prevailing atmosphere of war. She argues that the psychological community must look beyond superficial fixes toward a transformation that addresses the roots of suffering, emphasising that those in crisis, like the mothers in Palestine, refuse to be reduced to a single narrative and instead represent a radical, living multiplicity that demands our conscious attention.

While there are no registration fees for these lectures, the program functions as a fundraising vehicle for Palestinian mothers. The series honors and shares the profiles of three courageous mothers—Mrs. Diana Al-Moughrabi, Mrs. Nour Abulibda, and Mrs. Safaa Mansour—with their explicit consent. By participating in this series, attendees are invited not only to expand their psychological understanding of Gnostic and Jungian concepts but to stand in tangible solidarity with these women through voluntary, generous contributions. As Zaphiriou-Zarifi noted in her recent talks on the atmosphere of war, the act of recognising the “distinctiveness” of the other’s suffering is a necessary step for the healing of the collective psyche, moving us from the undifferentiated void of the Pleroma into the conscious responsibility of the Creatura.