Innocence and Its Violation:  Signs of Severe Dissociation in Dreams,

A Workshop With Donald E. Kalsched

Saturday, October 24, 2026, 1:00PM - 4:00PM Eastern Time

This Program WILL BE RECORDED.

One of the violent forms in which dissociation presents itself in dreams is as the “killing” of a vulnerable content, often a “child.” The classic mythological version of this theme is the “slaughter of the innocents” pictured in Rubens’ classic painting.  Whenever this theme emerges, we can rest assured that some vulnerable, new life-content is proving a dire threat to the “old order,” whether this is inside the psyche or out.  

Such “violence against vulnerability” is not the psyche’s effort to actually “kill” or extinguish a vulnerable content; that is, it is not the operation of some inherent evil or “death instinct.”  It is rather the defensive system’s effort to “kill” the ego’s consciousness of the threatening content.  It helps to be able to recognize this motif in dreams because it’s a sure sign that new feelings are emerging and begging to be integrated.  In this workshop, we will present multiple examples of this motif in the dreams of patients and explore ways of working with them.

PRICES:

Non-Members:  $77/per ticket

Individual Members:  $43/per ticket

Senior 65+ Members:  $38/per ticket

Student/Analytic Candidate Members:  $38/per ticket

Donald E. Kalsched, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst and clinical psychologist with a private practice in Topsham, Maine.  He is a member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and lectures nationally and internationally on his inter-disciplinary interest in early trauma and dissociation.  He is the author of numerous articles and two major books, The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defenses of the Personal Spirit, (Routledge, 1996) and his recent Trauma and the Soul: A Psycho-spiritual Approach to Human Development and its Interruption (Routledge, 2013).  Currently he has finished the manuscript for a third book, Trauma, Dissociation, and the Unremembered Child: Stories and Reflections, to be published by Routledge in 2027.

DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM:

Registration closes at 12:00pm Eastern Time the day before the program begins. 

RECORDINGS:  The recording will be sent out 24-48 hours after the session has concluded. You will have 14 days to watch the recording.  

ZOOM LINKS: Zoom links can be found in your registration confirmation email. They will also be shared about 24 hours before the program start time. Registration closes before Zoom links are shared. If you do not receive your link 24 hours in advance, please reach out asap directly to support@jung.org

CANCELLATION: You may cancel your registration up to 1 week prior to the program.

By agreeing to enroll in an online program offered by the Jung Society of Washington, you are also agreeing to comply with our terms. This means that you cannot record (through internal or external devices) the audio, visuals (photos), or  any videos of the program. The intellectual property belongs to the presenter, and we ask you not to violate this policy. Also, we highly value the anonymity of the content of the program, of the presenters, and of individuals present in the program, and hope that everyone can contribute to a respectful and trust-building online environment. Thank you!