Our Collective Shadow: Racism, Trauma, and Privilege

We have become more aware than ever of our American psyche and collective suffering due to cultural complexes that include raciality.  Our racial complex has caused our society much pain in all ways imaginable since the beginning days of the Middle Passage.  Jungian Psychology teaches us that we must explore not only the ego but also the unconscious—the home to our archetypal energies and our complexes.  Shadow as a core archetypal energy has a powerful influence on how we have a lived experience with the “Other.”  Intergenerational trauma occurs on a psychic, emotional, and physical level due to the accompanying racism of the racial complex and its constellation.  Our engagement with one another in thoughtful dialogue can open us to a deeper understanding of a soulful, interior unconscious that recognizes not only trauma, but also Psyche-led movements towards wholeness.

Session 1: A Jungian Cultural Perspective on the Shadow Archetype

In this session, we will learn to see and identify archetypal shadow energies on individual and collective levels as a central element of the racial complex.

Session 2: Racism: Letting My Heart Be Broken

Here we will consider our painful collective memory and the reality of American racism, recognizing a psychology of racism that promotes privilege, unconscious racism, and the maintenance of institutional racism.

Session 3: A Legacy of Intergenerational Trauma

In this final session, we will interpret psychological trauma caused by centuries-long social and political violence.

Fanny Brewster, PhD, is a Core Faculty member in the Depth Psychology Specialization in Integrative Therapy and Healing Practices at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her publications include, African Americans and Jungian Psychology: Leaving the Shadows, and, Archetypal Grief: Slavery’s Legacy of Intergenerational Child Loss, as well as selections from poetry, Journey—The Middle Passage, in Psychological Perspectives Journal. Dr. Brewster is additionally on faculty at the Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts and the New York C.G. Jung Foundation. www.fannybrewster.com

Location:

Hosted Online

Cancellations:

Full refunds for registrations and lodging will be provided up to 14 days prior to an event. Cancellations made 13-6 days prior will receive a 50% refund. There is no refund for registrations or lodging cancellations made within 5 days of your arrival or if you do not show up or leave a program or event early. The Retreat at Pacifica reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In this instance, you will be refunded in full.

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