Soul and spirit in therapy: Jung’s archetype of self and the transpersonal with Stephen Bushell
For millennia people have used the language of soul and spirit to describe the peaks and troughs of human experience. This workshop will explore how Jung’s discovery of the collective unconscious, and particularly the archetype of the self, redefines, revivifies and transforms the therapeutic encounter by embracing the Transpersonal dimension.
Religious experience and religious language has traditionally carried this dimension for us, and Jung held out for these religious terms to remain within the vocabulary of psychotherapy at a time when scientific rationalism was becoming the new language of the inner world. However, today we live in a time where the traditional container is for many people (but by no means all) dysfunctional and yet we seem to struggle to find other available language to express a lived experience or long yearned-for depth.
In this workshop we will consider:
- What happens in the consulting room when we find clients using spiritual or religious terms like soul, spirit, God, hell, heaven, etc?
- What could be a helpful approach when a client brings a dream or an experience that has shaken them by its ‘beyond the normal’ quality?
- Can we make inner space to both contain and yet be open to exploring what may feel unknown to us?
During the morning’s seminar, Stephen will be inviting reflection and discussion on participants’ life journeys and on their client work as well as introducing key elements of Jungian theory and practice. He hopes that we will gather in a spirit of openness to learning from one another in a shared experience.
Biography
Stephen Bushell is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Buckingham. He is the Training Coordinator of the Guild of Analytical Psychologists (GAP), a member of the International Association of Analytical Psychologists (IAAP) and is registered with the UKCP. Prior to working as an analyst, for 15 years Stephen provided Spiritual and Pastoral care in inpatient and community Mental Health services across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. He has a long standing interest in the interface of spirituality and psychotherapy and particularly in the practice of meditation.