Individuation, Jung's core myth, is a path of conversation--inner and outer, personal and social. It's happening all the time, sometimes as a cacophony, sometimes as a still, small voice. A way of working with this conversation is through the understanding of Ego -- the individual's "I" -- and Archetype -- the structural and mythic patterns and psyches that are part and parcel of our lives.

In the temenos (sacred container) of this course, we shall explore the path of the very real dialogue between Ego and Archetype. We shall ask ourselves the following: Who and what is the "I" that we take ourselves to be? Do archetypes and complexes function as psyches, in their own right, in our lives? If “yes,” how can this lead to greater life and meaning? And, what, if any, is the goal of our life’s process?

Class format: Presentation (with image, poetry, music and texts) and discussion. In order to facilitate its temenos quality, this course will not be recorded.

Reading (encouraged, not required): Edward Edinger, Ego and Archetype

Introduction: The "I" in Jungian Psychology

II.  Individuation and the Stages of Development (Ego and Archetype, Part I)

III.  Individuation as a Way of Life (Ego and Archetype, Part II)

IV.  Symbols of the Goal (Ego and Archetype, Part III)

NOTE: Class resources will be emailed to registrants.

Mark Napack, M.A., S.T.L., M.S., L.C.P.C., studied archetypal patterns in comparative literature at Columbia University, after which he applied Jungian theory to the redemption motif in medieval theology for his thesis at Fordham University.  He further studied Jung, psychology, and the history of religion at Loyola and Catholic universities. Currently, he is a senior candidate at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association.

A long-time graduate and college instructor, Mark has presented at international conferences, and his work has appeared in scholarly journals and books in English and French. Mark is a Jungian psychotherapist in North Bethesda, MD.