Into the Depths: A Psychoanalytic and Jungian Introduction to the Mind

Syllabus

• Week 1

  Introduction to psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives on the mind

  • Welcome to the course

    Meet your fellow learners and get set up with a private journal before starting the course content.

  • Watch: introducing the unconscious mind

    Watch therapists introduce key psychoanalytic and Jungian concepts, including the unconscious, ego, shadow and defences, then test your understanding with a short quiz.

  • Read and reflect: the inner voice

    Read an article on the inner voice and self-understanding, then reflect on an experience that has shaped how you see yourself, others or the world.

  • How does therapy actually work?

    Watch therapists discuss why psychoanalysis works, the therapeutic frame and analytic neutrality, then reflect on what makes a relationship feel safe enough to be helpful.

  • Theory and practice: exploring the concepts further

    Explore further reading and video resources on psychoanalytic and Jungian theory, then begin building a personal glossary and diagram of the key terms introduced so far.

• Week 2

  Family: how the psyche is formed

  • Watch: family and the formation of the psyche

    Watch therapists explore how our earliest relationships shape the developing sense of self, then reflect on your own family story.

  • Glossary

    Identify new terms from this week so far and start building your own glossary of psychoanalytic and Jungian concepts.

  • Hate, love and guilt: early emotional life

    Explore how love, hate and guilt develop in earliest relationships, and watch a documentary on repairing the parent-infant bond.

  • Transitions and play: Winnicott

    Explore Winnicott's ideas on transitional objects and play, then reflect on creativity and self-expression in your own life.

• Week 3

  Dreams: how the unconscious speaks

  • Watch: how dreams speak

    Watch therapists discuss why dreams hold a central place in psychoanalytic and Jungian therapy, then reflect on what you've seen.

  • Freud and Jung on dreams

    Explore Freud's and Jung's contrasting theories of dreams, and reflect on each in turn.

  • Hansel & Gretel as a Dream

    Read a familiar fairy tale as though it were a toddler's dream, and consider what it might be expressing.

  • Interpret your own dream

    Use psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas to explore the possible meaning of a dream you remember.

  • Compare Freud and Jung

    Build a simple comparison table of Freud's and Jung's approaches to dreams, then share your view with other learners.

  • Active Imagination — A Daily Practice

    Try Jung's technique of active imagination for a week, and reflect on what it brings to the surface.

  • Glossary

    Identify new terms from this week so far and start building your own glossary of psychoanalytic and Jungian concepts.

• Week 4

  Love, desire and sexuality: how the unconscious shapes relationships

  • Watch: love, desire and the unconscious

    Watch therapists introduce Freud's and Jung's ideas about love, desire, sexuality and attraction, then check your understanding of the key terms.

  • Freud and the Oedipus complex

    Explore Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex through the Greek myth that inspired it, and reflect on what it still offers us today.

  • Projection and the people we love

    Explore how projection shapes who we fall for, then write a short, honest reflection on someone you have loved — what drew you to them, and what you may have projected onto them.

  • Patterns We Choose

    Look for a pattern that repeats across your own past relationships, and consider what keeps drawing you back to it.

  • Two Jungian Voices on Archetypes

    Weigh two practising Jungian analysts' differing views on archetypes, then share which you find more persuasive.

• Week 5

  Trauma: when development is disrupted and how healing happens

  • Watch: trauma and how healing happens

    Watch therapists introduce trauma, disrupted development and healing, including repetition compulsion, deferred action and the wounded healer, then check your understanding.

  • Trauma: theory and resources

    Explore further resources on Freud's theory of anxiety and Jungian concepts of the self, and continue building your glossary.

  • Glossary

    Identify new terms from this week so far and start building your own glossary of psychoanalytic and Jungian concepts.

  • From wound to wisdom: the myth of Chiron

    Read the Greek myth of Chiron, the original wounded healer, and reflect on how suffering can, under the right conditions, become a source of wisdom and compassion for others.

  • Holding and repair

    Explore Winnicott's idea of the holding environment, then write an imagined moment of holding, understanding or repair.

  • Trauma and transformation in story

    Reflect on a creative work exploring trauma, survival or transformation, and share your thoughts with fellow learners.

• Week 6

  Death: loss, mourning and transformation

  • Watch: death, loss and mourning

    Watch therapists discuss death, loss and mourning, then reflect on and test your understanding of the concepts introduced.

  • Death, loss and mourning: theory and resources

    Explore psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives on mourning, the depressive position, and individuation as a kind of symbolic death of the ego.

  • Myths of death and renewal

    Read the myths of Niobe and Orpheus & Eurydice, and reflect on death, mourning and melancholia.

  • Transformation and the nigredo

    Watch Marilyn describe the alchemical stage of the nigredo, and consider Jung’s idea that psychological transformation may require a period of darkness and dissolution before something new can emerge.

  • Completing the course

    Take a moment to reflect on the course as a whole, share what you’re taking with you, and find out what might come next.

Who will you learn with?