Jungian Psychology and Its Value Today

Course Description

This course will familiarize you with the basic landscape of Jungian psychology. With this introductory map you´ll learn where you can go exploring for deeper self-understanding and where you might find the powers and places you need in your life.

You’ll learn about the sources and key elements of Jung’s thought and why his thinking is still so relevant in our times of spiritual malaise. You’ll hear some of Jung’s personal story, including his own confrontation with the unconscious. Rose tells us how Jung’s life work sprang out of that moment that some have called his “creative illness” in which he was searching for the soul he realized he’d lost.

The course presents some of Jung’s most vital contributions to modern psychology; concepts such as complexes, synchronicity, typology, symbolic systems and the organizing principle of the Self.

Rose reminds us that while Jungian psychology is very rich conceptually it is also a very practical and individual approach to healing and finding meaning in life. Jung’s concern was with developing a working alliance between the ego and the unconscious in a way that actually changed lives.  He showed how through working with complexes we can recognize what collective and family stories are driving us. Once we see that we have more choices about how to respond. 

Another approach Jung used to dialogue with the unconscious was dream work. Our dreams at night are intentional and personal communications from the psyche that are trying to move us toward wholeness and greater freedom. Rose neatly defines Jung’s basic assumptions about dreams for us.

If you want a brief tour of the world Jung opened to modern souls in search of meaning, let Rose Holt be your guide in this introductory course to the symbolic life.

These lectures were originally presented at the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis and have been remastered by Jung Platform. The lectures are available now.

This course is ideal if

• You are new to Jungian psychology
• You want to know the basic differences between the views of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
• You’d like to learn more about Carl Jung’s own confrontation with the unconscious and how it’s related to his Red Book
• You want to recognize Jung’s contributions to the concepts of complexes, and his unique view on the relationship between the ego and the unconscious
• You want examples of how to live a meaningful life
• You wonder what it means to embrace wholeness rather than pursue perfection
• You want to hear about how to engage with your creative and instinctual urges in a constructive way

Course Overview

Class 1 – An overview of Jungian psychology and its value today

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This lecture is an introduction to the fundamental ideas of Jungian psychology. Rose Holt offers us a broad outline of Jung’s structure of the psyche and we get a sense of what Jung means when he talks about the ego, the personal and collective unconscious and the Self. At the same time we’re reminded that these concepts are like training wheels on a bike that we need to let go of to ride on our own. The psyche is a mystery and these concepts are just ways to approach it.

In this class Rose Holt talks about the three schools of Jungian thought: developmental, archetypal and classical. She describes the ways Jung and Freud agreed and disagreed about the nature of the psyche and the highest values in life.

We learn about Jung’s contributions to the theory of complexes, his work with the physicist Pauli on synchronicity, and Jung’s increasing concern in the second half of his life with the collective movements of human civilization.

Class 2  – An Approach to the Dream

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In this lecture Rose Holt explains Jung’s basic assumptions about dreams. She gives examples of how dreams are comments on our life situations and moving us toward wholeness. We learn that through attention to our dreams we can enter into a dialogue with the unconscious and how that conversation can give meaning to our lives.  

We hear examples of dreams that reveal the deep stories that underlie the dreamer’s consciousness. When we pay attention to our dreams we start to know the stories that are shaping how we see and move through life. Seeing the story allows us to try to challenge it or change it.

In this class we feel the power of dreams to heal and restore us.

By the end of this course you will

• Understand that the aim of Jungian psychology is to help us get in touch with the deeply healing realms of the psyche
• Recognize some of the universal patterns that shape our behavior
• Sense how your individual life is supported and shaped by collective currents
• Describe in general terms Jung’s map of the psyche
• Identify several of Jung’s most important contributions to psychological thought and therapeutic practice
• Appreciate how developing a conversation between your ego consciousness and the deeper layers of the psyche helps you becomes freer and fuller
• Gain a broad perspective on approaches to dreams.
• Develop an appreciation for the value of dreams and their place in one’s personal psychology.