Archetypes | Brian Collinson

Entries Tagged as 'archetypes'

Psychotherapy and Renewal: Persephone’s Big Comeback

April 5th, 2011 · No Comments · analytical psychology, archetypal experience, Carl Jung, depth psychology, inner life, Introversion, journey, Jungian, Jungian analysis, life passages, mythology, personal myth, personal story, psychological crisis, Psychology and Suburban Life, psychotherapist, Psychotherapy, renewal, Self, soul, therapist, therapy, unconscious

The Persephone myth conveys a natural movement in psychological life For Persephone, it is only as she is detached from her familiar world, and descends to the Underworld that she can bring the blessing and the gift of the seasons, of new green life, and fecundity. Sometimes the encounter with life’s circumstances and with the unconscious can seem like a sudden plunge into darkness and descent into the underworld. But the underworld has its own gifts that it brings. Only those who can accept those gifts, and eat the food of the underworld, can bring the gift of life and fertility back to the “surface world” of their everyday lives.

Psychotherapy and Instinct: Saving Our Inner Sled Dogs

February 15th, 2011 · No Comments · animal nature, body, C. G. Jung, depth psychology, instinct, Psychotherapy, symbol, symbolism, therapy, unconscious

From a Jungian symbolic perspective, animals, and dogs in particular, often symbolize the bodily and instinctual dimensions of human life. When they appear in our dreams, for instance, dogs can often symbolize our instinctual side. This may relate to the sexual side of our nature, but it more often relates to the basic need for affiliation and companionship that humans share with dogs, and that we see mirrored in them.

Jungian Psychotherapy Symbol Book: A Personal Journey

November 23rd, 2010 · 7 Comments · a personal journey, journey, Jungian psychotherapy, Psychology and Suburban Life

Artistic and religious symbolism worldwhile reflects the archetype of the journey. It’s one of the most universal expressions of the human condition and the development of the course of human life. The whole point of a journey is that it has a destination. This can be a very important thing to know in therapy, and in human life in general. But it must be something other than a glib platitude.

Sarah Palin, “Mama Grizzlies” and the Mother Archetype

August 15th, 2010 · No Comments · archetypal experience, archetypes, Carl Jung, collective consciousness, depth psychology, mother archetype, parent-child interactions, popular culture, Psychology, Psychology and Suburban Life, Psychotherapy, symbolism, unconscious

Andrea Huffington commented recently in the Huffington Post on Sarah Palin’s use of archetypal imagery in the political ads that she has recently run with incredible success online. Huffington seeks to use the concepts of Jungian psychology to analyze Palin’s message. In my opinion, it’s a fruitful approach.

Brian Collinson

Journeying Toward Wholeness