Jung at Heart (2024-2025): Archetypes and Complexes and How They Relate Part 1

Saturday, October 5 & 19, 2023; 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
ARCHETYPES AND COMPLEXES AND HOW THEY RELATE
Scholars of Jungian analytical psychology often surmise that his psychology could have well been named “complex psychology” and others posit it could have been called “archetypal psychology”. In this class we explore both concepts and how they interrelate. One of Jung’s most intriguing theories was that at the core of every complex is an archetype. Archetypes are inherited structuring patterns of the psyche that create behavioral patterns, generate images, and draw one’s psyche to certain modes of being and experience. Complexes, on the other hand, are built-up, often problematic, charged, feeling-toned areas of the psyche that are not easily integrated into conscious reflection and negotiation. We discuss some common archetypal themes Jung saw reflected across cultures and different mythopoetic traditions throughout history. In the second class, we will explore how they relate to complexes and explore ways to relate to our own complexes so that we can contain, negotiate, and sometimes even dissolve the more problematic ones.

Stephen Kenneally, M.A., M.B.A., M.F.T., is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Santa Monica, CA. He is active in the training at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and has taught for over ten years at Antioch University. Stephen has also worked at an experiential retreat center, and prior to that, worked in finance in New York city.