In Person + Zoom: Getting Next To Ourselves Again

Presented by Michelle Stephens, Ph.D.

Panelists: Athena Carrillo, M.A.; Lynn Alicia Franco, M.S.W.; and Cydny Urbina Rothe, M.S.W.

This presentation will explore the notion of double consciousness, a concept used to describe the experiences of African Americans.  One holds an internal image of self and, at the same time, holds an image of self projected by the ‘other.’  The presentation looks at the possibility that this dynamic exists in everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity. Described as intersubjectivity, it recognizes images of self hidden from consciousness that may be reflected back to us in the ‘other’s’ eyes. It posits that retrieving these images of self from the unconscious can lead to more internal stability and spaciousness. We may become more available for interracial conversations that are less encumbered and dissociated when we can hold competing ideas about ourselves, including the potential shadow elements that the ‘other’ holds of us.

This presentation is intended for those who have some working familiarity with clinical concepts such as dissociation and projection.

Learning objectives:

• Describe dissociation and dissociative othering and its implications for the therapeutic relationship
• Describe the interpersonal approach to double-consciousness and racialized not-me states
• Compare concepts from interpersonal and critical race theory with Jung’s concepts of the shadow and the collective unconscious.

PRESENTER:

Michelle Stephens, L.P., Ph.D., is a practicing interpersonal and relational psychoanalyst in New York. Born in Jamaica, West Indies she identifies as black, and studies both the culture and psychodynamics of American race relations from a Caribbean perspective. A graduate of the William Alanson White Institute, she also serves as a co-director of The Chocolate Salon: Black Clinicians Connecting and Reflecting, with Kathy White and Sam Wyche. As Professor of English and Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University, she is also the Founding and Executive Director of Rutgers’ Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice (ISGRJ). She writes on the intersections of race and psychoanalysis, and in her free time loves to read (paranormal romance novels are a not so secret pleasure), dance, swim, and is an avid movie watcher.

PANELISTS:

Athena A. Carrillo, MA, MFT. is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Los Angeles, California. She serves as Vice President of the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, is on the Director of Training Committee and is a member of the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusivity. She has taught at the LA Jung Institute, the New Center for Psychoanalysis, and Antioch University. She presents on the transferential field in working with adults in the borderlands of childhood trauma, the therapeutic use of the body in dialoguing with the unconscious, and on synchronicity in relationship to the self. She identifies culturally as Latinx and ethnically as both Mediterranean and Mexican. Athena is Certified in Kundalini Yoga and meditation and immerses herself in nature whenever possible.

Lynn Alicia Franco, LCSW, is a bilingual and multicultural Analyst-Member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She identifies as a “white” Latinx Colombian Immigrant with Jewish/Catholic ancestry. Besides her analytic practice, from which she recently retired, she continues to teach, consult, and remain active in many CJISF activities. Most significantly, from 2015-2024, she co-chaired the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. In addition to professional engagements, she relishes exploring the world’s cultural histories through travel with her husband. When she is home, she spends many hours in her studio sculpting in wood and clay.

Cydny Urbina Rothe, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst with a virtual practice and an office in Pasadena, California. At the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, she serves as Chair of the Task Force on Diversity and inclusivity and on the Director of Training Committee. Her maternal family originates from the mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico and on her paternal side, she comes from European, Jewish roots. She has facilitated groups and conferences through the Tavistock oriented Group Relations model which studies how unconscious process moves through groups and organizations. She has presented on film from a Jungian perspective, racism, aging, death as well has offered writing workshops. She loves to swim in the ocean, hike and dance, as well as revel in her grandchildren’s beautiful spirits.

Refund requests must be sent by email at administration@junginla.org before noon (12:00 pm) prior to the program being paid for. No refund will be issued otherwise.