About Us

The C.G. Jung Study Center of Southern California is a Training Center dedicated to training potential Analysts, also facilitating programs for public and mental health professionals on Jungian Analytical Psychology, including research and writing based on a Jungian approach.

The central component of Jung’s work is the discovery of the objective psyche, specifically, the Self, the archetype of wholeness. The discovery of the Self is made possible by valuing the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious; accepting “the other” within. He writes in his autobiography Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, “The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life,” (p. 325). Jung inspires in us, throughout his voluminous work, the realization that the connection to the infinite and the recognition that the psyche is real are the determining factors of one’s life. The connection to the objective psyche is also the vital piece of all psychological work. Jung’s discovery of the collective unconscious and his development of the theory of instinct separates Jungian Psychology from other modalities. Jung taught his pupils and his clients the efficacy and importance of the living reality of unconscious, and most importantly, he offered his humanity born out of his own confrontation with the unconscious (see Jung’s Red Book).

Jung and others such as Von Franz, Barbara Hannah, Eric Neumann, Ester Harding, and Edward Edinger are the analysts that belong to what is referred to as the Traditional Jungian approach. These authors articulated how to practice and teach in a tradition dedicated to the psychological vision of Jung. Their proximity to Jung helped them continue to complement Jung’s work, which is [remaining true to the core beliefs that Jung discovered and taught, and with tremendous effort, communicated throughout his Collected Works and beyond. These traditional Jungians model how Jungian Analysts work in concert with the archetypal psyche to understand its wisdom; through our personal relationship to the natural psyche we experience our own encounter with the Greater Personality, or the Self.

The traditional Jungian paradigm is important to Analytical Psychological training because it is the path towards two things: one, a possible permanent alteration of one’s personality, and a transformation of the unconscious itself. These two outcomes can emerge from a deep psychological analysis where meaning is found in divine service to the Self. This experience has a lasting, permanent impact on the individual and the unconscious. Jung reminds us of the importance of the active, reflecting consciousness in this process and the recognition of a vital urge within the individual to engage creatively with the unconscious. Jung writes, “As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. It may even be assumed that just as the unconscious affects us, so the increase in our consciousness affects the unconscious” (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, p. 326). Analytical Training informs the individual how to become more conscious of what is emerging from the unconscious in oneself and the individual before him/her as each works towards the discovery of the wholeness of the Self and widening consciousness in the world.