The Institute

The C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the study and dissemination of the views of C.G. Jung. His works focus on psychological insight, development of consciousness, and growth. To accomplish this, we offer programs to train future Jungian analysts and psychotherapists while promoting research and publications. We are also committed to community outreach through our many on-going programs which include our public programs; our adult and child clinics; our bookstore and library; our journal, Psychological Perspectives; the Remembering Jung video series; and the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism.

Brief History

Jungian psychology in Los Angeles arose from the deep passion of its early founders, who dedicated their lives to teaching the work of C.G. Jung to interested individuals, and to spreading Jung’s ideas to others, so that he could become known and his work could find the audience it deserved. This all began in the 1940’s through the efforts of James and Hilde Kirsch and Max Zeller—all refuges from Nazi Germany. They first organized the Analytical Psychology Club (APC) of Los Angeles. In the beginning, the club served as a source of lectures about Jung’s work during a time when there was very little written or said about Analytical Psychology. The APC continues to this day and shares the building called the C.G. Jung Institute.

The founders purchased this building in 1973; in it, they created the first Analytical Psychology clinic in the United States, now known as the Kieffer E. Frantz Clinic. The building has housed all of the subsequent creations of the Institute, which include the Hilde Kirsch Children’s Center; the Max and Lore Zeller Library and Bookstore; the Institute’s journal, Psychological Perspectives, created by William O.Walcott; Suzanne and George Wagner’s film Matter of Heart and the Remembering Jung film project as well as the film archive that grew from that film; and a branch of the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS). Today, these founders would be amazed at the number of analysts in training, clinic patients, and workshops and lectures that emanate from this small building and the spirit of those involved. The passion for the knowledge of the human soul continues here to this day.

Jungian psychology has also found a place in today’s culture: in pop music, theater, film and television, poetry and literature. The C.G. Jung Institute stands as a rich resource for those who are seeking analysis, education, and community.