Deep Blues: Human Soundscapes for the Archetypal Journey

Presented by Mark Winborn, Ph.D., NCPsyA,

This presentation will explore the genesis, history, and thematic patterns of the blues from both  psychological and archetypal perspectives.  In our increasingly isolated and technologically engrossed culture there are increasingly fewer opportunities to move into shared experiences of unitary reality in which the bubble of our individualism is pierced, allowing a felt, relational connection to our environment and those around us. The blues, a genre of music which originated in experiences of trauma, oppression, and enslavement and which embodies both sadness and release into joy, can be seen an artistic expression of the potential for psychological transformation and wholeness within, as well as facilitating a deeper union with the other.  Drawing from mythological and shamanistic parallels, we will focus on the role of the bluesman and his role in the process of psychological healing, particularly when working with patients who are in retreated states and unable to verbally express psychological trauma.

Learning objectives:

• Describe the psychological and cultural influences which led to the development of the blues as a distinct genre of music
• Identify archetypal patterns in blues music
• Describe how the experience of blues music can be understood through C. G. Jung’s concept of participation mystique

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Mark Winborn, Ph.D., NCPsyA, is a Jungian analyst and clinical psychologist in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee, and a training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and the C.G. Jung Institute – Küsnacht.  He has published or edited five books: Deep Blues: Human Soundscapes for the Archetypal Journey, Shared Realities: Participation Mystique and Beyond, Interpretation in Jungian Analysis: Art and Technique, Beyond Persona: On Individuation and Beginnings with Jungian Analysts (with Lavinia Țânculescu-Popa), and Jungian Psychoanalysis: A Contemporary Introduction (part of the Routledge series – Introductions to Contemporary Psychoanalysis), as well as numerous articles and book chapters. He received the Gradiva prize from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis for the best article published in 2022 and was a Gradiva finalist in 2014 for the best edited book in psychoanalysis and an American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis Book Prize Finalist in 2019. Additionally, he has presented papers at the past five Congresses of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022) and is on the IAAP Program Committee for the 2025 Congress in Zurich. He lectures widely both in the USA and internationally.