Clinician’s Program (2024-2025): The Dynamism of Shadow and Complexes

Saturday, October 5, 2024

The Dynamism of Shadow and Complexes

Presented by Paula Smith-Marder, Ph.D.

Shadow and complexes operate as dynamic forces in our lives but are often elusive to grasp. In this seminar we will examine some of the ways in which shadow material and complexes appear in dreams and daily life, particularly in our relationships with others. Learning to identify and work with these unconscious and often hidden aspects of oneself in the context of the analytic relationship can lead to a greater sense of integration and cohesion.

 Learning Objectives:

• Describe what Jung meant by shadow.
• Describe a complex including its archetypal core.
• Give a clinical example of what it means to be caught in a complex.
• Describe the difference between the positive and the negative shadow.

Paula Smith-Marder, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and certified Jungian analyst with a private practice in Pacific Palisades. She is a past Director of Training at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles. She teaches and supervises at the Jung Institute, she taught at Alliant University, and for ten years she was a psychologist consultant to The Women’s Life Center at UCLA. Her interests include oil painting, piano, and animal dreams.