Memories, Dreams, Reflections
5 consecutive Mondays, 7:00 –8:40 pm
Beginning October 1
Instructor: Jane Selinske, EdD, LCSW, LP
C.G. Jung’s seminal autobiographical work reveals the spiritual essence of his life’s experiences that remained in his memory. As narrator of Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Jung tells about himself, his development, his dreams, his thoughts and how he arrived at the conception of analytical psychology. In this class, we will read, watch video clips, discuss the meaning of Jung’s ideas and explore their personal meaning for our own life today.
The Astrological Archetypes: Symbols of Meaning and Process
We regret that this class is full and registration is closed.
5 consecutive Tuesdays, 7:00– 8:40 pm
Beginning October 2
Instructor:Cynthia Poorbaugh, MFA, LP
Jung initially formulated his theory of archetypes as inner laws of the human psyche which manifest as images of the collective unconscious. As his theory evolved, he saw archetypes as factors which constellate patterns not only within the human psyche, but also in the external, physical world-a step which was key to his theory of synchronicity. His contact with the current trends in physics, his encounter with ancient Eastern thought of the I Ching, and with the Medieval thought of the alchemists were three important influences in his evolving theory of archetypes and of synchronicity. Synchronous with the development of depth psychology in the 20th Century, a number of astrologers redefined popular, prognostic astrology, describing the planets as symbols of psychological function and process, and found Jung’s theory of archetypes key to this symbolic perspective.
In this course, we will look at how the astrological symbol system, the birth chart, reveals the nature of archetypes and how individual consciousness might interact with these universal forces and patterns using mythological amplifications. We will begin by looking at Jung’s theory of archetypes and his references to astrology in The Collected Works. No prior knowledge of astrology is necessary.
Note: This course will be held at 26 West 9th Street, Suite 3B.
We regret that this class is full and registration is closed.
Active Imagination Using Paints
5 consecutive Wednesdays, 6:30 –8:10 p.m.
Beginning October 3
Instructor:Maxson J. McDowell, PhD, LMSW, LP
Click here for readings on instructor’s website
Active imagination helps us to talk with the unconscious: it requires a confrontation between two distinct agents in the psyche. The unconscious produces images; consciousness responds to these images with feeling and tries to understand their meaning. Painting allows us to express vivid, unconscious images. We will read Jung and von Franz on active imagination and then work with paints and explore the resulting images. If you have never used paints since grade school, so much the better! Fee for materials: add $10 to tuition fee.
Fundamentals of Classical Jungian Dream Interpretation
5 consecutive Wednesdays, 6:30–8:10 pm
Beginning October 3
Instructor:Sylvester Wojtkowski, PhD
Sorry, this class is now full; registration is closed!
I have no theory about dreams. I do not know how dreams arise. And I am not at all sure that-my way of handling dreams even deserves the name of a “method.” …On the other hand, I know that if we meditate on a dream sufficiently long and thoroughly, if we carry it around with us and turn it over and over, something almost always comes of it. CW 16, “The Aims of Psychotherapy” (1931), p. 86
Since the entire psychic content of a life could ultimately be disclosed from any single starting point, theoretically the whole of a person’s previous life-experience might be found in every dream.CW 8, “General Aspects of Dream Psychology” (1916), p. 240
From an appreciation of the dream as an unknown manifestation of the psyche to the precise dream interpretation that reveals the whole psychological life of a dreamer, this course will follow the range of approaches to the dream world of C.G. Jung. Our approach will follow Jung’s conviction that the psyche attempts to reveal itself symbolically to the dreamer and that in principle we can learn the psyche’s symbolic language. In contrast to Freud, Jung believed that psyche meant what it proclaimed, rather than hiding its meaning. This course is designed to offer basics of Jungian symbolic dream interpretation. We will study Jung’s major writings on dreams in order to learn his method of subjective and objective levels of interpretation. We will discuss compensatory and prospective function of dreams and will practice our skills by interpreting a variety of dreams provided.
Note: This course is held at 420 East 51st Street, Suite C.
This class is now full; registration is closed!
Jung Contra Freud: The 1912 Lectures on the Theory of Psychoanalysis
5 consecutive Thursdays, 7:00–8:40 pm
Beginning October 4
Instructor:Harry W. Fogarty, PhD
“Jung Contra Freud – The 1912 New York Lectures on the Theory of Psychoanalysis,” delivered at Fordham University, outlined the future development of Jung’s work as differing from Freud’s. In honor of the centennial of Jung’s Fordham Lectures, we will read and discuss with clinical applications “Jung Contra Freud.”
Note: This course is held at 7 West 96th St., #1E.
Fall II: Classes begin the week of November 5, 2012
Reading Jung Together
5 consecutive Mondays, 7:00 –8:40 pm
Beginning November 5
Instructor:David Rottman, MA
With all new readings from Jung and Von Franz, in this class we will read aloud from selected “famous” passages of Jung’s and Von Franz’s work, and discuss the meaning of the ideas in depth. In some cases, we will give ourselves the pleasure of exploring Jungian ideas word by word and sentence by sentence. The topics will include dreams, fate, relationships, the nature of complexes, approaches to healing, the search for meaning on an individual path, and last but not least, what is going on in America political and cultural life now at an archetypal level. We will have a special focus on grounding Jung’s ideas in daily living.
Dismantling the Caretaker Complex
5 Wednesdays, 6:30–8:10 pm
Beginning November 7 (excluding November 21)
Instructor:Irina Doctoroff, LMFT, MS
The Caretaker complex is a complex of identity which is formed early in childhood when a parent sees her child as an object she owns for her needs and forces the child to incarnate precariously into the mold of her expectations. Primarily, the mother expects the child to take care of her. As an adult, such a child continues to serve, take care of, and accommodate other people, often at her own expense. We often meet caretaker-identified people in healing and teaching professions. What brings them to therapy is their inability to have full access to their creativity, and to experience true happiness and pleasure.
In this class, we will explore the formation, development, and treatment of the “caretaker personality.” The nature of caretakers’ original wound suggests that a crucial task for them is to allow themselves to be taken care of and be able to own and express their needs. We will also discuss the caretaker personality from a historical and cultural perspective and relate it to the state of the Feminine in our patriarchal society.
This course offers a review and elaboration of the material presented in the spring and welcomes both old and new participants. The emphasis in this course will be on self-exploration as well as theory.
Dreams and Creativity
5 consecutive Wednesdays, 6:30 pm–8:10 pm
Beginning November 7 (excluding November 21)
Instructor:Sylvester Wojtkowski, PhD
Sorry, this class is now full; registration is closed!
Dreams are fairy tales that we tell ourselves. They are the small and big myths that help people to understand. Of course, you shouldn’t ask your dreams for instant or constant help in changing your daily behavior. And you shouldn’t completely abandon yourself to the pleasure of this night spectacle. The insensitive dreamer risks spending his days doing nothing, surrounded by brittle, evanescent things. Sometimes people are so immersed in that reality they dream only at night-but by then it’s too late for images. Federico Fellini in a 1964 interview
Long dream-series no longer appears as a senseless string of incoherent and isolated happenings, but resembles the successive steps in a planned and orderly process of development. I have called this unconscious process spontaneously expressing itself in the symbolism of a long dream-series the individuation process. CW 8, “On the Nature of Dreams” (1945), p. 550
When engaged by the conscious mind, complexes shed their mythological envelope and can enter into a dialectical discussion that leads to the process of individuation. This process can be best appreciated by studying a dream series. In this companion course, we will explore a dream series of the great Italian film director Federico Fellini, in order to gain insight into the creative process itself. In 1960, during his work with Jungian analyst Ernst Bernhard, Fellini produced an illustrated dream journal that he continued to fill throughout his life. Published only recently, Fellini’s Book of Dreams provides a unique vision into the psyche of one of the creative geniuses of the modern times. Using a series of dreams of “the feminine giantess” we will examine how creative spirit manifests itself in dreams and how those evolve throughout the artist’s lifetime. We will probe at how this ‘unconscious creativity’ relates to his art.
Note: This course is held at 420 East 51st Street, Suite C.
The Way of the Dream, Part 1
5 Thursdays, 6:00–7:40 pm
Beginning November 8 (excluding November 22)
Instructor:Maria Taveras, LCSW
We will focus on The Way of the Dream, a documentary film that comprises conversations between Marie-Louise von Franz and Fraser Boa on Jungian dream interpretation. Each evening, participants will view one of these conversations and then engage in an interactive discussion and question-and-answer session about how von Franz interprets dreams in a Jungian way. Texts of the dreams featured in the film will be provided to participants. Marie-Louise von Franz, one of the most famous Jungian analysts, was analyzed by Jung and worked closely with him for 30 years. Part 2 of this course will be offered in Spring 2013.