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Pacifica Graduate Institute is a unique place, as anyone with an experience of it will attest. Among the questions most frequently asked of Pacifica alumni include “Why did you go?” and “What was it like?” This is dedicated to sharing reflections of the Pacifica experience. The Alumni Association of Pacifica Graduate Institute brings together favorite memories of teachers, students, staff, alumni, community, and visitors alike. Together, these personal gems convey a sense of Pacifica’s collective light.

Johanna Hayes PsyD Clinical 2013
Pacifica has offered to me a unique perspective that spoke to me deeply. It allowed me the ability to explore and find my voice as a practitioner. I was enrolled at another very conventional university when I found Pacifica, or rather, when Pacifica found me! I didn’t know what Depth psychology was at that time, but i knew I had been introduced to something very special. It has truly been a transformative experience.

Aaqilah Islam “CLE” Program
Pacifica offers an expansive curriculum in applications of depth psychology. My experience studying depth psychological perspectives of Community Psychology, Liberation Psychologies, and Ecopsychology (CLE) at Pacifica, has been life-changing both in regard to my personal journey and academic career. For example, last summer I volunteered to teach in a prison education program. It was the first time I ever taught, and the first time I severed as a volunteer in a prison setting. I am certain that this fieldwork experience provided me with an opportunity for passionate inquiry into an area of deep concern, and it lead me to recognize where my strengths can be best applied. When I started Pacifica I was not yet self-confident enough to think I could teach especially, in a prison setting.

Kay Todd, Ph.D. Mythological Studies with Emphasis in Depth Psychology, 2004
There are many gifts I have received from my time at Pacifica. One of the many is that Pacifica has offered me multiple lenses in which to view the world. As a nonprofit leader I utilize the theories of Jung, archetypes and the collective unconscious, with mythology/story to merge organizations, and to bring new life and vision to volunteers and staff. I use story/mythology and archetypes to bring the mission of the organization to life for the public and to brand the organization. All of us have stories even organizations.

Marci Loftin, M.A. Counseling Psychology, 2010
C.G. Jung describes the time near mid-life as an opportunity for expanded consciousness. For many, including me, Pacifica became the organic extension of this call. Pacifica’s greatness lies in the ability to hold and contain the multiplicity of experience while growing towards a more authentic self. No matter how one arrives at Pacifica, the experience is transforming. By sharing and developing a collective language of soul and service we each operate in the world changed, and better for it.

Marianne Tauber, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, 2005
I’d first enrolled in the Ph.D. in Depth Psychology program, with its inauguration on Friday, 13 September, 1996 — it was my birthday. Nevertheless, I soon came to realize that I needed to change to the Clinical program, to deepen my knowledge and practical skills as a therapist, while still attending to “depth.” From 1997 to 2000, this was it: What excitement, what effort, what struggle, what satisfaction! These were easily the best years in all of my life’s academic learning, and I’ll be forever grateful for them. At this time (and with my first book just published), I look forward to being an engaged member of Pacifica’s Alumni Association, contributing as I can to much-needed Archetypal Activism. Greetings (from Zurich, Switzerland, this spring!).

Lupe Zuniga, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, 2001
I continue to be in awe at the speed at which our beloved Alumni Association grows and multiplies. I feel so incredibly honored to be involved with all the dear souls who have made this possible.

Sherrie Sims Allen, M.A. Depth Psychology, 2010
Pacifica allowed me to liberate mySelf and gain confidence in formulating my narrative with racism and sexism as it pertains to Black women in America. Liberation is an important factors in the relationship work I offer the world, Pacifica enhanced that process. Using my voice and being in service to the world is a gift from My Pacifica.

Holly Reusing, M.A. Counseling Psychology, 2005
I am honored to be among those who feel they arrived at Pacifica through a series of synchronistic events. After working through the counseling program and diving into the depth psychology program (almost finished), I can honestly say that everything I do (family, work, and otherwise) has been affected and fortified by my experience as a Pacifica student. I am so grateful to those who keep the structures in place at Pacifica and nurture the immense vision of tending soul in the world. It is an amazing feat to hold this intention in the midst of fostering individual growth and strength through the study of Jung et al in a traditional institutional setting. I will always be a champion of Pacifica Graduate Institute.

William Jones, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology
It all began with a random conversation I had with a Pacifica alumnus that set my new journey into motion. At the time, I was the graduate assistant at another university and was assisting a professor with a student private practice visit. The professor was a graduate of Pacifica’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. When I saw his doctoral diploma on the library wall, I inquired about Pacifica and why he chose to go there for his graduate work. Once he spoke of his journey at Pacifica, I immediately knew I had to learn more about the institute. Shortly after that conversation I attended a one-day instruction at Pacifica and immediately felt a tug in my soul that simply meant; I was home. The rest, as they say, is history. I can easily see now why that professor seemed to truly light up when speaking of Pacifica because now I indeed do the same. Each monthly session I come back home from Pacifica feeling virtually renewed yet stretched intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually on the multiple areas of my personal and professional journey being nurtured by the depth experience. Simply put; Pacifica has become the gift that keeps on giving and I continuously look forward to each class, each session, and each challenge as I grow closer and closer to the man and psychologist I aspire to be.

Terry Pearce Pacifica Graduate Institute Board of Trustees
I was older than most when I enrolled at Pacifica, and I was in the myth program, as it was the most appropriate for my own career; but what I shared with students in the other programs was a love of the institute’s mission, and an appreciation for the faculty’s commitment to it. This is not a program or campus that is conducive to the ordinary. Because of its steady focus on meaning, you will be challenged differently and in some ways more intensely than you would be in a more traditional environment. It calls you to be authentic, to be part of something larger than yourself. It requires you to find a life’s work in its presence, and to bring that to the world after you leave.

Tom Elsner Pacifica Core Faculty – Counseling Psychology Program
Often I’ve wondered why students really come to study at Pacifica. Of course it is to get a degree in their chosen fields of study, and often to receive training to prepare them for the vocation of psychotherapy. But many schools offer degrees and training. As graduation ceremonies are approaching I have been thinking about what many of the students say about their experience as they receive their diploma. Bottom line I believe Pacifica’s greatest gift for our students is the experience many of them take away of being in a community of like-minded people in which they are stretched and encouraged to become and grow into themselves. And for many of our students that process is greatly facilitated by the way in which Pacifica is devoted to the recognition and tending of a deeper dimension of the self than the ego. As students take away that experience, both from their inner work while here, their studies and training, as well as the experiences shared with classmates, they often describe feeling more prepared to assist others to do the same as clinicians, in community fieldwork, or in their creative pursuits.

unidentified contributor
In my work with Dianne Travis-Teague and the Alumni Association, I have seen firsthand that Pacifica Graduate Institute is more than just an education institution — it is a journey and a place of discovery. During the first steering committee workshop weekend, it was obvious that, while students, the group had developed a community of kindred spirits that continue to grow, experiment, and experience rebirth together. I have been asked what I think about the Pacifica alumni group, its rituals and soulful dialogue. I have come to realize that, every time I leave an Alumni Association gathering, I feel my soul has been warmed, and I am thankful that Pacifica alumni have allowed me in the circle to experience it.

Anthony Bean American Psychological Association of Graduate Students
Pacifica is a wonderful place to grow and experience yourself as your grow in spirit and intellect of working with the spirit. The transformation at Pacifica is unlike anything that I have ever encountered. As you learn to work with the soul you can feel yourself becoming enlightened. The growth that I have experienced for myself and for my clients has made me a better clinician.

Aaron Kipnis, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, 1992
When I became the first Pacifica Ph.D. student to defend his dissertation in the summer of 1991, I had no idea how many doors would spring open as a result. Having never previously published anything, I published a book based on that dissertation in the fall. Soon the phone began to ring. Offers to teach, consult, write more books and many other opportunities resulted. All that has passed since was seeded by those few years of study, research, and writing at Pacifica. Now I am proud to be faculty at the same Alma Mater that both nurtured and then launched me on a new career. Pacifica’s greatest and enduring gift to me was its atmosphere of radical academic freedom in which I could follow my own passions with the support and encouragement of the excellent, accomplished, and caring faculty. I learned to follow my dreams and, if not my bliss, then my real affect.

Barbara Stone, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, 1995
My very first weekend at Pacifica, Dr. Diane Skafte taught us a class on shamanism which opened my eyes to ways that the physical world interacts with the spiritual world and how we can use this interchange for healing. The way shamans take so much time to set sacred space by building an altar and invoking the presence of healing spirits made a big impression on me and had a great influence on the way my life and work developed. During the time I was trying to pick a thesis topic, I found a lump in my breast which turned out to be malignant. The night after my surgery, spirit told me to write a book about my experience and title it Cancer As Initiation: Surviving the Fire, and that book became the popular form of my dissertation on the emotional aspects influencing cancer survival.

Ruth Meyer, Ph.D. Depth Psychology, 2005
I was one of the first female undergraduates admitted to study history at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, England in 1979. My male professors laughed at my proposal to write a dissertation and pursue my Ph.D. I knew one day I’d prove them wrong. Pacifica gave me my voice as a writer. It celebrated my research into the role of dreams and imagination in the writing of history. Now I share my story with my high school students. I tell them, “Just because one teacher tells you, you are not good enough, doesn’t mean you can’t follow your dream. Listen to your inner voice. Follow your dream and one day you will prove them wrong. I followed my dream and never gave up on it. You can do the same.” They love hearing this. I can see the lights go in their eyes, and I thank Pacifica for empowering me as a teacher and a writer. Because of Pacifica, I can turn the lights on in my students eyes.

Walter Beebe President – New York Open Center
What are we doing here, at the Open Center and Pacifica? Learning and spreading the word about how to be in the world — in specific fields and in our lives. When Pacifica called and proposed a collaboration to reach out further than our individual campuses, I recognized the leadership and genius of that initiative. The Open Center welcomes this new, creative, hybrid form of learning, and the access to such good teachers in New York City and our Internet world. It works!

Toni D’Anca
One generally comes into an academic program at Pacifica with a desire to earn a degree — whether to learn a new craft or to enhance one’s work with new insights and skills. Upon leaving, however, one realizes that they have gained so much more — a lasting community of colleagues, teachers, and friends; a deeper sense of Self (BIG ‘S’ SELF) through personal transformation; and a greater commitment to tending the soul of the world.

Jennifer Selig, Ph.D. Depth Psychology, 2004
When people find out you are going back to school, they always want to know what you are going to school for. When your school is Pacifica, how do you answer them? I am going back to school to change my life. I am going back to school to discover, uncover, recover, the essence of who I am. I am going back to school to return home to myself, anew. I am going back to school to surprise myself with who I am. The better question is, who are you going to school for? And when your school is Pacifica, the answer is always, I am going to school for my Self. I am going to school to heed and hone that Self, to find and refine that Self, and to set that Self free in the world to be of service to the Other which is the beloved. You can’t give them that answer because you might not have known it yourself then, at the start of your journey, but you know it now, in your breath and your bones, at the end.

Mike Denney, Ph.D. Depth Psychology, 2001
In 1937, in the second grade, sitting at my desk and trying to complete a math quiz, I looked out the window at a beautiful blue sky. “Mrs. Scheimer!” I shouted. “Look, there’s a puffy cloud and it looks like little puppy dog.” The teacher marched to the window, abruptly pulled the shade, and said, “Do your math quiz.” In 1996, at the reception desk of a writers’ conference in Santa Monica, I was handed a brochure by a woman named Diane Huerta, who I later learned was the director of admissions at the time for a school called Pacifica Graduate Institute. Describing courses in subjects such as Mythic Traditions, The Sacred, and Imaginal Perspectives, the brochure was irresistible. A year later, after having practiced scientific medicine and surgery for nearly forty years, I enrolled in the depth psychology program. Since receiving my Ph.D. in 2001, I have dedicated myself to writing and teaching about a union of science and spirituality in the healing arts. Thank you, Pacifica! You showed me how to reclaim that beautiful little puppy dog in the cloud.

Martha Feng Executive Director – Counseling West
Sand play, authentic movement, dream work and other imaginal techniques invite clinicians to use their own creative voice to heal while holding to the traditions deeply grounded in the collective psyche. Counseling West honors Pacifica for its passionate, insightful students and faculty, and we look forward to many more years of a depthful relationship.

Mary Watkins Co-Chair – Pacifica Depth Psychology Program
All the care that staff, administration, and faculty take in their work enables each student to experience the life-changing power and inspiration of being an integral part of a learning community. We can not understand what we need to by ourselves alone. We need communities where we can place our knowings alongside others’, forging our visions into shared paths toward common dreams.

Christina Carney, M.A. Engaged Humanities, 2010

April 15th – Welcome to Hel: Navigating Times of Mythic Collective Illness

March 31, 2020

Welcome to Hel: Navigating Times of Mythic Collective Illness Presented by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. Wed, April 15, 2020 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM PDT A free online webinar discussion of what folklore can [...]

Joseph Campbell: Author, Mythologist, Hollywood Guru

March 26, 2020

Joseph Campbell: Author, Mythologist, Hollywood Guru by Patricia Danaher “Follow your bliss” is one of the most popularly quoted phrases of the comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose [...]

IN MEMORIAM: Nan Savage, 2010 PhD Mythological Studies

March 17, 2020

In Remembrance of Nan Savage Healy (Pacifica ‘10) and to celebrate her groundbreaking book: Toni Wolff & C.G. Jung: A Collaboration(2017) Written by: Kathryn & Wil Savage, her children [...]

Pacifica Alumni/ae Shine at ASWM 2020 National Conference

March 12, 2020

Pacifica Alumni/ae Shine at ASWM 2020 National Conference Eight Pacifica Graduate Institute alumni/alumnae will be presenting at the Association for the Study of Women and Myth’s 2020 [...]

New Book from Alum Carder Stout: Lost in Ghost Town

March 11, 2020

New Book from Carder Stout Lost in Ghost Town: A memoir of addiction, redemption and hope in unlikely places Addiction trumps privilege in Carder Stout’s (2015 PhD DPSYCH) vivid memoir [...]

Marie Elliot-Gartner: The Bacchae by Euripides

February 21, 2020

The Bacchae by Euripides The performance of The Bacchae by Euripides, Greek classical antiquity, contemporized, actually imaginal space – no time, cyclical time; adapted for the stage [...]

Coming Home: Our Stories Matter by Melody Allen

February 13, 2020

Our Stories Matter by Melody Allen, 2009 MA Counseling Psychology As a therapist, I engage with clients from all walks of life. No two stories are the same. The overall client assessment [...]

[CANCELED] EIU COMIC CON to feature writer/producer of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” – Craig Tidley

January 30, 2020

[CANCELED] CHARLESTON — The first EIU Comic Con is planned at Booth Library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 28, 2020. Activities will include an Artists Alley, a screenwriting workshop, [...]

COMING HOME: An Age-Old Story Seen Through “Soul Eyes” by Bonnie Bright

January 3, 2020

Human beings are made of stories—the stories we have lived; stories that serve to guide us, and the stories that we aspire to create. One ancient and archetypal story that each of us carries [...]

Dr. Nina M. Kelly is recognized by Continental Who’s Who

December 28, 2019

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Nina M. Kelly is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as Top Artist and Healer for her dedication and excellence as a Mythologist, [...]

Experience Immersive Ritual Dance with Ryan McCormack, 2015 MA Depth Psychology

December 21, 2019

Colee Garr of Hilo Shala, dancer and choreographer Jenn Eng, Dance Magic’s Jami Deva, kumu hula Ryan McCormack and vocal artist Rhiannon will present “Internal Altars,” an immersive ritual dance [...]

Breaking the Mold: The LaFetra College of Education’s Center for Neurodiversity, Learning, and Wellness is supporting student success one heart and one mind at a time.

December 3, 2019

Patricia Taylor, PhD Depth Psychology 2007 – founder of the center is our alumna. Breaking the Mold The LaFetra College of Education’s Center for Neurodiversity, Learning, and Wellness is [...]

Meet Our New PGIAA Board of Directors and Officers

November 1, 2019

Dave Alber Launches Hybrid Oil 360° Panoramic VR Paintings in Art Exhibition Exploring Cultural Continuity

October 18, 2019

Kun·Chef, D03, No.505, Duke Avenue, Kunshan, 215300, Jiangsu Opening: Oct. 13, 3:30 pm Exhibition Duration: Oct. 13 – Dec. 31, 2019 The art exhibition Old World New World at KunChef in Kunshan [...]

Harry Leroux Grammer, IV DISSERTATION DEFENSE

October 17, 2019

‘Rituals can help with the loss of a baby’ by Patricia Danaher

October 15, 2019

Journalist Patricia Danaher hopes that a Japanese practice can help the grieving process, writes Kathy Donaghy In her life as a journalist, Patricia Danaher, who is originally from Cork, covered [...]

Working Therapeutically with Video Gamers and Their Families by Anthony Bean, PhD Clinical 2015

October 11, 2019

Video games are a common form of entertainment, but small percentage of those who regularly play video games engage in excessive use of video games. There is a professional debate about whether [...]

Review of Memory: The Origins of Alien with William Will Linn (PhD Mythological Studies, 2015) in NY Times

October 6, 2019

Our alum, William Will Linn (PhD Mythological Studies, 2015) appears in theaters across the country through this weekend and next week! We hope you will see Memory: The Origins of Alien and join [...]

New PGIAA Community Network YouTube Tutorial

September 30, 2019

[POSTPONED] Questing for Our Personal Myth: Writing, Remembering, and Renewing Our Story through the Teachings of Joseph Campbell

September 25, 2019

[POSTPONED] Questing for Our Personal Myth: Writing, Remembering, and Renewing Our Story through the Teachings of Joseph Campbell A Workshop with Dennis Patrick Slattery April 16-19, 2020 Hotel [...]

PGI Alumni Working to Bring Depth Psychology to International High School Students

September 24, 2019

PGI Alumni Working to Bring Depth Psychology to International High School Students – By John Valenzuela, Ph.D. and Devon Deimler, Ph.D. Two Pacifica alumni met for the first time [...]

Painting Transcendence: A Jungian Lens on the Works of Hilma af Klint by Marybeth Carter

September 23, 2019

Immediately on viewing the works of Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), an artist who was a contemporary of C. G. Jung (1875–1961), I experienced a surge of excitement from the bold images and symbolic [...]

A Jungian Inquiry into the American Psyche: The Violence of Innocence by Ipek S. Burnett (Depth Psychology, 2015)

September 17, 2019

A Jungian Inquiry into the American Psyche: The Violence of Innocence by Ipek S. Burnett (Depth Psychology, 2015) In A Jungian Inquiry into the American Psyche: The Violence of [...]

Pacifica at Skirball: Photo Gallery

August 15, 2019

Art Auction for Kenyan Schoolchildren

August 15, 2019

Dave Alber Showcases Comics, Illustration, and Oil Paintings Celebrating a Storyteller’s Approach to Travel in an Art Auction for Kenyan Schoolchildren WangDe Art Shop,No. 8 Nanxianzi Lane, [...]

Jennifer Selig, PhD ~ Coming to Chicagoland

August 13, 2019

They Had a Dream (We Have a Dream): C G Jung, Martin Luther King, Jr, and the Evocative Power of Symbols Jennifer Leigh Selig, PhD Friday, October 4, 2019 | 1-4:00PM | C G Jung Institute of [...]

An evening with author Gard Jameson, Ph.D.

August 13, 2019

On Friday evening, August 16 at 7:30PM, to celebrate the release of our fourth book collaboration, Dr. Gard Jameson and I will be speaking at the Philosophical Research Library in Los Feliz. We [...]

OPUS’ summer Mythological RoundTable on August 18th featuring Myth alum Odette Springer, PhD

June 6, 2019

The Joseph Campbell Foundation Mythological RoundTable® Group of OPUS at Pacifica Graduate Institute presents: Odette Springer, PhD The Indigenous Psyche: Changing Woman and an Artist in Dialogue [...]

Myth Salon: June, July and Summer BBQ

June 1, 2019

Greetings everyone… As summer is finally approaching and the weather seems to be heating up, The Myth Salon is looking ahead to a spectacular lineup of fresh new perspectives. We are excited to [...]

The Fates and Graces Mythologium: A Conference for Mythologists • Aug 2-4

May 23, 2019

August 2 – 4, 2019 • The Inn at Morro Bay, Morro Bay, CA Three fellow Pacifica alums, Joanna Gardner, MA Mythological Studies 2015; Rachel Lugn, MA Mythological Studies 2015; and, Stephanie [...]

San Diego Alumni Gathering at Coronado Brewing

May 23, 2019

Join us at Coronado Brewing in Imperial Beach on Sunday, May 19 for our quarterly get together We’ll be gathering at Coronado Brewing Company, 875 Seacoast Dr., Imperial Beach, CA 91932 in [...]

Thesis Presentation Day Program 2019

May 23, 2019

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology Friday, May 24, 2019 • 9AM Schedule Overview C Track Thesis Presentations • Room G / 9:00am—3:00pm C Track Luncheon Buffet / 12:00pm—1:00pm D Track Thesis [...]

VICELAND PREMIERS ‘THE THERAPIST’ FEATURING DR. SIRI THE MASTER: THE ANTI-IYANLA (WATCH)

May 21, 2019

The Therapist Comforts the Troubled Musician

May 21, 2019

Music is often talked about as a form of therapy—after all a DJ can, as Indeep told us, save a life from a broken heart. It’s also often said that making music is like visiting a shrink; Ed [...]

A Talk by Mark Humpal & Book Signing “Ray Stanford Strong, West Coast Landscape Artist”

May 3, 2019

What: A Talk by Mark Humpal & Book Signing Where: The Wildling Museum When: Sat., March 9, 2019, 3:00 – 4:30 PM Cost: Members $5 & General Admission $10 The Wildling Museum of Art and [...]

Dana White, Ph D: From Zero to Infinity and Back Again

May 3, 2019

Returning to the Heart of Love

May 3, 2019

Next Saturday, April 6 – my good friend and colleague Dr. Raïna Manuel-Paris will be holding an all-day workshop at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Feliz, which is enjoying the [...]

The Fates and Graces Mythologium: A Conference for Mythologists • Aug 2-4

May 3, 2019

August 2 – 4, 2019 • The Inn at Morro Bay, Morro Bay, CA Three fellow Pacifica alums, Joanna Gardner, Rachel Lugn, and Stephanie Zajchowski, are hosting a new conference, The Fates and Graces [...]

Decoloniality and Positionality by Breana Johnson, Tarell Kyles, and Mari Larangeira

April 11, 2019

Colonialism and resistance to it, began in the 15th century with the imposition of European cultures and geopolitical powers upon Indigenous cultures. While simultaneously carving up land and [...]

“Out of a Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope” : The Relationship Between Hope and Despair in Times of Crisis by Jennifer Selig

March 28, 2019

Date: Friday Evening April 12, 2019, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Registration begins at 7:00 p.m. Lecture: “Out of a Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope” : The Relationship Between Hope and Despair in Times [...]

Certificate in Applied Mythology

March 23, 2019

Details October 28 – December 13, 2019 An Online 6-Week Course with Craig Chalquist, Kelly Carlin, Kwame Scruggs, Erik Davis, and Mary Wood International participation is encouraged and welcome. [...]

The Forum: An Annual Conference on Theory and Practice • Saturday, April 13, 2019

March 21, 2019

The Forum: An Annual Conference on Theory and Practice Sponsored by the Alliance Saturday, April 13, 2019 – 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Mercer Island Community & Events Center (new location)8236 SE [...]

Experience Pacifica: Alumni ‘Coming Home’

March 3, 2019

Friday, March 22nd, 2019 from 9:30am – 4:00pm Harry Grammer A very warm and special welcome to our alum, Harry Grammer, Founder, President and CEO of New Earth, Los Angeles, CA If you know [...]

Experience Pacifica: A Special Presentation by Dr. Siri Sat Nam Singh

February 21, 2019

Experience Pacifica Friday, March 22nd, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Join us for a One-Day Introduction to Pacifica’s graduate degree programs in Depth Psychology, Humanities and Mythological [...]

The Obama Foundation Now accepting applications for Leaders: Africa

February 15, 2019

The Obama Foundation is bringing together emerging leaders from across Africa to be part of a community of innovative changemakers. Could you be one of them? Applications are now open for the [...]

Meet the Fellows: How one leader is changing lives

February 13, 2019

When a young person gets out of the justice system, how can we make sure they don’t end up going back? Harry Grammer has a solution: give them the mentor-based support and care they need to [...]

Shame & Art Expression by Deborah Cluff PhD at ETS Summit

February 8, 2019

Shame & Art Expression Sunday, March 31, 2019. 9:00 am – 4:30 pm Faculty: Deborah Cluff, PhD Hilton Los Angeles Airport Shame is at the core of much psychological distress and can even [...]

Art and Psyche: The Illuminated Imagination

February 2, 2019

The Romance of the Grail in the Forests of Brocéliande with Evans Lansing Smith

January 18, 2019

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL The Romance of the Grail in the Forests of Brocéliande with Evans Lansing Smith September 1-8, 2019 • France The second in a series of Mythological Studies [...]

Dancing to the Edge of a Cliff: A Musical Mythological Journey toward Self-Acceptance

January 2, 2019

Dear Pacifica family, from the bottom of my heart I would like to invite each and every one of you, or at least those in the Southern California area, to join me at the world premier of my [...]

Love Wins by Beth Anne Boardman, PhD

November 9, 2018

By – Beth Anne Boardman, PhD (Mythological Studies, 2012) Watching current events, some of us fall into vats of anger and despair. We may experience hopelessness, helplessness, depression. [...]

NOSTOI AND NEKYIA: POETS AND PAINTERS OF AFRO-CARIBBEAN MODERNISM with Evans Lansing Smith, PhD

November 8, 2018

NOSTOI AND NEKYIA: POETS AND PAINTERS OF AFRO-CARIBBEAN MODERNISM with Evans Lansing Smith, PhD Two Sunday Sessions, February 24 and March 3, 2019 1:00pm to 4:00pm 801 Ladera Lane, Santa Barbara, [...]

Presentation on the legacy of Marion Woodman (1928-2018) • Saturday October 27th

October 27, 2018

Presentation on the legacy of Marion Woodman (1928-2018). Saturday October 27th 12:45 to 1:45pm South Hall Lambert campus (249 Lambert Rd.) Pacifica Graduate Institute This talk will focus on [...]

23rd Australasian Conference of Irish Studies ‘Myth and Memory’ – Nov 27 – 30

October 16, 2018

23rd Australasian Conference of Irish Studies ‘Myth and Memory’ 27 November to 30 November 2018, University of Sydney (Camperdown Campus) The theme of the 23rd Australasian Irish Studies [...]

Save the dates: The Romance of the Grail in the Footsteps of Joseph Campbell with Evans Lansing Smith

October 11, 2018

SAVE THE DATES THE ROMANCE OF THE GRAIL In the Footsteps of Joseph Campbell with Evans Lansing Smith September 1-8, 2019 The second in a series of Mythological Studies Tours, this trip takes us [...]

Livestream: An Evening with Craig Titley & Friends • Saturday, September 22nd, 2018

October 4, 2018

An Evening with Craig Tilley & Friends Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 Moderated by Dr. David Odorisio Craig Titley is a film and television writer/producer who began his film career in the [...]

Livestream: An Evening with Fanny Brewster • Saturday, September 15th, 2018

October 4, 2018

An Evening with Fanny Brewster Saturday, September 15th, 2018 Moderated by Dr. Thyonne Gordon Dr. Fanny Brewster is a Professor of Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa [...]

Lecture: Engaging the Other through Art and the Feminine by Susan Rowland

September 25, 2018

Lecture: Engaging the Other through Art and the Feminine SUSAN ROWLAND, Ph.D. and LISA A. POUNDERS, M.A., with RICH RYAN, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.I.S.W. and MARILYN MATTHEWS, M.D. The feminine haunts [...]

Christine Downing To Be Honored

September 21, 2018

Christine Downing, PhD will Receive the Distinguished Educator Award from the International Forum For Psychoanalytic Education (IFPE) at Upcoming 29th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference. [...]

African American Jungian Analysts: On Culture, Clinical Training/Practice and Racism

September 20, 2018

AFRICAN AMERICAN JUNGIAN ANALYSTS: ON CULTURE, CLINICAL TRAINING/PRACTICE AND RACISM (Offered as the 9th Andrew Samuels Lecture) Date and time: Saturday 13th October 2018. 9.30am–6pm Venue: [...]

The Alchemy of Adolescence presented by Beth Anne Boardman, RN, MA, PhD

September 17, 2018

*NEW LOCATION!! The Alchemy of Adolescence Presented by Beth Anne Boardman, RN, MA, PhD Sunday, September 23rd, 2018 • 4:00 – 6:00 pm Exploring images, music, science, and the wisdom of [...]

Mattoon native lands dream job writing for superheroes

September 17, 2018

Mattoon native lands dream job writing for superheroes Craig Titley can sometimes be seen taking his Marvel superheroes lunch box to work. For a grown man, that might seem a bit unusual. But for [...]

Watch Livestream for Harry Grammer on TEDx Santa Barbara

September 5, 2018

Coming January 2019 ~ Soul Series for Nurses

September 4, 2018

Friday, January 18, 2019 • 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm Balboa Building Auditorium, 735 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 $60 Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, [...]

Unmasked Comes to Santa Fe

August 30, 2018

Event to feature poems, essays on women, sex after 50 Join six contributors to the anthology, Unmasked, Women Write About Sex and Intimacy After Fifty, for a discussion about women, aging, and [...]

New Publication: Leaves from the World Tree: Selected Poems of Craig Deininger & Dennis Patrick Slattery

August 27, 2018

New Publication: Leaves from the World Tree: Selected Poems of Craig Deininger and Dennis Patrick Slattery by Craig Deininger, Dennis Patrick Slattery Dennis Slattery, PhD Emeritus Faculty, [...]

Journal of Humanistic Psychology – Newly Released Article

August 23, 2018

Journal of Humanistic Psychology – Newly Released Article Negative Reflections About Positive Psychology: On Constraining the Field to a Focus on Happiness and Personal Achievement Oksana [...]

New Publication – Coming Soon: In Depth Sport Psychology; Reclaiming the Lost Soul of the Athlete

August 23, 2018

In Depth Sport Psychology: Reclaiming the Lost Soul of the Athlete is a unique exploration of the vital archetypal elements and themes that emerge when considering elite sports psychology through [...]

5th Annual Los Angeles Area BBQ & Gathering

August 14, 2018

Salvador Treviño Joins PathPoint Behavioral Health

August 8, 2018

PathPoint has announced the addition of Salvador Treviño, clinical psychologist, to its Behavioral Health Division. Through a partnership with the Santa Barbara County Department of Public [...]

APA 2018 Convention in San Francisco • Thursday, August 9th

August 7, 2018

APA 2018 Convention in San Francisco, Thursday, August 9 at 4 PM at the Marriott Marquis Hospitality Suite: Pacifica Alumna, Dr. Gina Belton (2017 Depth Psychology)will present and facilitate [...]

Diagnostic Fictions by Robert Romanyshyn

August 5, 2018

Friends, The Journal of Humanistic Psychology just published an advance on line copy of my article, Diagnostic Fictions to be published in print form sometime later this year. It is part of the [...]

PGIAA Alumnae To Present at 2018 TEDxSunValley

July 26, 2018

Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumnae, Cary Dakin – 2013 PhD Depth Psychology and Alison Poulsen – 2003 PhD Depth Psychology are among the 2018 speakers. TEDxSunValley will field 15 speakers for [...]

Tallahassee Rwandan Genocide researcher, Lorraine Warren (2017 PhD DPCLE), reflects on healing

July 16, 2018

Lorraine Warren, 2017 PhD DPCLE ‘Message in the bones’: Tallahassee Rwandan Genocide researcher reflects on healing The rooms of the old school turned memorial at Murambi [...]

PGIAA Proudly announces new book by Anthony M. Bean (2015 Clinical PhD) Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy

July 14, 2018

PGIAA Proudly announces new book by Anthony M. Bean (2015 Clinical PhD) Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy A Clinician’s Guide Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy [...]

Chiron Publications announces new book from Dr. Mary Harrell

July 12, 2018

The Mythmaker is personal myth, fiction based on author’s life Chiron Publications is pleased to announce the release of The Mythmaker, by award wining author and depth psychologist Dr. [...]

OPUS RoundTable with Dr. Craig Chalquist on August 12th

July 12, 2018

The Joseph Campbell Foundation Mythological RoundTable® Group of OPUS at Pacifica Graduate Institute presents: Craig Chalquist, PhD: “Storytelling Nature Myths: A Project of Reenchantment” [...]

PGIAA Announces 2018 Walter Odajnyk Scholarship Recipients Wendilyn Emrys and James Perrin

July 6, 2018

PGIAA Announces 2018 Walter Odajnyk Scholarship Recipients: Wendilyn Emrys and James Perrin Wendilyn Emrys, M.A. Wendilyn Emrys has been a mythophile since early childhood. At thirteen years of [...]

The Embodied Fool: A Tarot Adventure through the Tree of Life

June 30, 2018

AsarumRetreats.com Presents: The Embodied Fool is an introductory workshop designed to reveal the wisdom of the Tarot as a guide through life’s initiations via meeting and embodying the [...]

CAMFT Recognizes Excellence

June 25, 2018

The CAMFT scholarships, grant and honors awards were presented at the 54th Annual Conference in Garden Grove, CA on April 28, 2018. Details about the award recipients can be found by visiting [...]

From the Field: Anthony Bean, 2015 PhD Clinical Psychology

June 22, 2018

Dr. Anthony Bean is a Licensed Psychologist in Fort Worth, Texas. He has worked across the lifespan focusing on various difficulties with life and emphasizes individual strengths and normalizing [...]

Life and Work with Michelle Bitting

June 13, 2018

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Bitting. Michelle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? I’m a dedicated poet and teacher of creative writing. I’ve [...]

Update from the field: William James Jones, PhD (Clinical 2016)

June 13, 2018

Update from the field: Our illustrious alumnus William James Jones, PhD (Clinical 2016) has recently been hired as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and [...]

From the Field: Obama Foundation Fellowship Member Harry Grammer, 2013 MA Depth Psychology

June 12, 2018

From the Field: Obama Foundation Fellowship Member Harry Grammer, 2013 MA Depth Psychology

June 12, 2018

From the Field: Obama Foundation Fellowship Member Harry Grammer, 2013 MA Depth Psychology-Community Liberation Ecopsychology PhD Candidate The Obama Foundation Fellowship program supports [...]

May 2018 Notes From the Field by Patricia Taylor, PhD

May 9, 2018

Dear fellow alumni, I serve on the Board of Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association. I graduated with a PhD in Depth Psychology class of 2007. I am currently the chairperson of Special [...]

LETTERS OF HOPE by Jill Griffin PhD (Myth 2012)

May 2, 2018

“Community & Connections – Inspiring Resilience and Hope,” LETTERS OF HOPE: Here’s a simple way that Pacifica students and alumni around the country can offer support to the communities [...]

Harry Grammer, PGIAA ALUM Named to Inaugural Class of The Obama Foundation Fellows

April 25, 2018

Why I Practice Gratitude by Richard Durborow, 2013 MA Counseling

April 17, 2018

The Power of Gratitude When I first started working with young clients as a therapist at the Boys and Girls Club I would often begin our sessions by reading a storybook. My youngest clients were [...]

Myth Salon: April – Raïna Manuel-Paris; May – Jerome Bernstein

April 5, 2018

The Myth Salon serves those involved with Jungian, Depth Psychology and cultural studies. Each month, attendees gather in the living room of Dana White’s Santa Monica home from 7-9pmand is [...]

Four Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni present at APA Division 32 Annual Conference in Boulder, CO

April 5, 2018

Clinical Alumni in Action!

March 17, 2018

Michael Mollura Widely recognized and respected in the entertainment and healthcare communities as the go to composer for feature films with dramatic spiritual themes, award-winning music [...]

Complete Works of Carl Jung for sale

March 16, 2018

The Collected Works of Carl Jung (21volumes) Published by Princeton Press 2nd edition, 1970, Bollinger XX The Collected Works of C. G. Jung is a book series containing the first collected [...]

Pacifica Alum, Brian Falk named Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year

March 15, 2018

PACIFICA ALUM, BRIAN FALK NAMED CARPINTERIA VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR Brian wanted to help both the other businesses in town and help serve the community. He brings with [...]

Dreams: Soul-Centered Living in the 21st Century by Laura V. Grace, Ph.D.

March 9, 2018

ABSTRACT Dreams: Soul-Centered Living in the 21st Century begins with some basic information: seven steps to effective dream recall, befriending dream characters—especially disturbing dream [...]

Author Navigates the Wrinkles of Aging

March 7, 2018

A doctor of my acquaintance recently circulated a letter to announce the closing of his practice after a long, productive and distinguished career. But he did not call it retirement. Rather, he [...]

RETURNING THE GIFT BY JO TODD, PHD Depth Psychology, 2006

February 17, 2018

We are pleased to announce the launch our Returning the Gift Initiative, created by Dr. Jo Todd and PGIAA Regional Coordinators, with the belief that each of us received a gift from our time at [...]

Pacifica Alumna Awarded 2018 SCRA Emory Cowen Dissertation Award

February 16, 2018

Pacifica Alumna Awarded 2018 SCRA Emory Cowen Dissertation Award Alumna Shelly Stratton’s dissertation is the recipient of the 2018 SCRA Emory Cowen Dissertation Award. Her work is titled, [...]

Finding Meaning in Later Life

January 30, 2018

Finding Meaning in Later Life Gathering and Harvesting the Fruits of Women’s Experience Marcia Nimmer, Wright Institute, USA Finding Meaning in Later Life is an exploration in understanding the [...]

RAY STANFORD STRONG: WEST COAST LANDSCAPE ARTIST by Mark Humpal (MA Counseling, 1994)

November 28, 2017

Congrats PGIAA Alum, Mark Humpal (MA Counseling, 1994) on the announcement of his new book: RAY STANFORD STRONG: WEST COAST LANDSCAPE ARTIST Throughout his long and prolific career, Ray Stanford [...]

PGIAA Alumna, Marina Aguilar (MA Counseling 1990) ALCHEMY OF THE HEART: The Sacred Marriage of DIONYSOS & ARIADNE

November 28, 2017

PGIAA Alumna, Marina Aguilar (MA Counseling 1990) ALCHEMY OF THE HEART: The Sacred Marriage of DIONYSOS & ARIADNE (Recently Released by Chiron Publications) Through the exploration of the [...]

Dr. Cynthia Smith (Mythological Studies PhD 2011) – Transforming Disabled Children’s Lives Through Music and Art

November 20, 2017

Local Organization Transforms Disabled Children’s Lives Through Music and Art For decades, a historic two-story home in Anaheim’s Maxwell Park hosted the Ability First program, which [...]

PGIAA proudly salutes two alumnae who were recently honored by Chiron Publications

November 8, 2017

PGIAA proudly salutes two alumnae who were recently honored by Chiron Publications. Both are recipients of awards bestowed on their new releases: Imaginal Figures in Everyday Life: Stories from [...]

Temenos and the Power of Myth by Kwame Scruggs

October 11, 2017

Temenos and the Power of Myth Article in Voices – Journal of the American Academy of Psychotherapists Once upon a time, in a time when the sun rose in the west and settled in the east, in a [...]

Temenos and the Power of Myth by Kwame Scruggs

October 11, 2017

Temenos and the Power of Myth Article in Voices – Journal of the American Academy of Psychotherapists Once upon a time, in a time when the sun rose in the west and settled in the east, in a land [...]

Crossing the Nile with Joseph Campbell

October 8, 2017

I am currently Chair and Core Faculty of the Mythological Studies Program at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Santa Barbara, CA. In the 1970s I traveled with Joseph Campbell in France, Egypt, [...]

A Lecture on Dreams with Internationally Acclaimed Dream Work Specialist Machiel Klerk

October 6, 2017

Friday, November 17 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM EST CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) 123 4th Ave #2, New York, NY 10003 Friday evening lecture on Dreams & mini-workshop on Saturday [...]

Ellen "Len" Young, 2005 PhD Mythological Studies, joins the new class of the Riley Institute at Furman’s Diversity Leaders Initiative

October 4, 2017

Ellen “Len” Young, 2005 PhD Mythological Studies, who is currently Executive Director of the Charleston School of Law Foundaton will join the new class of the Riley Institute at [...]

Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People

September 1, 2017

Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People The Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People by Dave Alber is a global anthology of myths from the living polytheistic traditions [...]

Dorathea Thompson (MA Counseling 1994) in NAMAH Quarterly Journal

August 25, 2017

C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S to our alumna Dorathea Thompson (MA Counseling 1994), whose Case Study, “An integrative approach — working through fear — case study of a 10-year-old [...]

We Sure Love Our Hero Myths, Don’t We?

August 15, 2017

We Sure Love Our Hero Myths, Don’t We? by Cathy Diorio July 31, 2017 We sure love our hero myths, don’t we? Reaction to John McCain’s dramatic last minute vote on the Senate healthcare [...]

Holding the Tension: One Woman’s Journey from Immigrant to Therapist

August 14, 2017

An Interview with MFT Consortium Stipend Recipient, Naris Kesheshe A Guest Post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D. When she was 13 years old, Naris Kesheshe—who recently finished her third year in the [...]

Dreams, Calling, Suffering, and Individuation: Finding Light in the Darkness

August 5, 2017

Dreams, Calling, Suffering, and Individuation: Finding Light in the Darkness An Interview with Jungian Analyst and New Pacifica Core Faculty Member, Fanny Brewster. A Guest Post by Bonnie Bright, [...]

Former skier and Life Turns Aspen co-founder uses camps to empower children with medical conditions

August 1, 2017

A heartwarming story of courage and hope – Our alums, Max Mancini and Jen Schumacher, 2015 MA Counseling Psychology. “We have these camps to help increase self esteem and build [...]

Harry Grammer honored as a CNN Hero

July 14, 2017

Los Angeles (CNN) Several times a week, a security officer lets Harry Grammer through the gates of Camp Gonzales, a juvenile detention center in Los Angeles. Inside, Grammer addresses a group of [...]

Seeing in the Dark Authors at Leimert Park Village Book Fair • August 19th

July 14, 2017

The Dark Divas of depth are back! Yup! We are back! Some of us docs who co-authored our book, Seeing in the Dark, will be at the Leimert Park Village Book Fair on August 19th! Please come out and [...]

Embodied Social Justice • Coming to a Bookstore near you, September 2017

July 13, 2017

Congratulations Dr. Rae Johnson Chair, Somatic Studies Specialization M.A./Ph.D. Depth Psychology Embodied Social Justice introduces a body-centered approach to working with diversity and equity, [...]

The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence Recipient: Harry Grammer

July 12, 2017

The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence “Tending Soul” Harry Grammer, Founder of New Earth Harry Grammer is a poet/ musician and founder of New Earth. As the Founder and Director of Programs, Harry [...]

LGBT Pride and the Soul: An Essay by Edward Santana

July 6, 2017

In honor of LGBT Pride Month, author Edward Santana reflects on how the historical 1993 March for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation shaped his personal and professional identity, [...]

PGIAA Counseling Psychology Alumna, Hala Khouri featured on the cover of LA YOGA Magazine

June 22, 2017

Congrats to PGIAA M.A. Counseling Psychology alumna and now Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology, and Ecopsychology student Hala Khouri for being featured on the cover of LA YOGA [...]

Soul Honoring Retreat • Santa Barbara, June 30 – July 2

June 22, 2017

“Soul Honoring Retreat” “My soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you – are you there? I have returned, I am here again. I have shaken the dust of all the lands from my [...]

Listen to "Conducting Psychological Evaluations" (Pro-Bono Lecture with: Dr. Reuben Vaisman-Tzachor) Saturday, April 29, 2017

June 18, 2017

Listen to “Conducting Psychological Evaluations” Pro-Bono Lecture with: Dr. Reuben Vaisman-Tzachor Saturday, April 29, 2017

Amor & Psyche by Marie Elliot-Gartner, 2003 PhD Myth

June 15, 2017

A re-written and adapted Amor&Psyche for the stage in Rosenheim, Germany, but in English by Pacifica Alumni Marie Elliot-Garner, 2003 PhD Myth. Amor & Psyche: Worum geht’s? Synopsis: [...]

Janet Taylor and Alchemy

May 11, 2017

Janet Taylor – Psychiatrist, Life Coach, Self Care Activist – and Alchemy Janet Taylor and Alchemy from Alchemy Gold on Vimeo.

The Power of Self-Actualization Revealed by Historical African-American Leaders

April 28, 2017

The Power of Self-Actualization Revealed by Historical African-American Leaders A guest post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D. One of the benefits of depth psychological traditions is that they can be [...]

THE THERAPIST – Premieres May 8 on VICELAND featuring Pacifica Alum, Dr. Siri Sat Sam Singh

April 18, 2017

Pacifica Alum, Dr. Siri Sat Sam Singh, 200 PhD Depth

The Myth Salon by Dana C. White, PhD

April 14, 2017

The Myth Salon Dana C. White, PhD Adjunct Faculty and Alumnus, Mythological Studies The Myth Salon emanated from the desire to create a setting and a program format to experience the substance of [...]

Pulitzer prize-winner Gareth Cook interviews Gay Bradshaw in Scientific American.

April 10, 2017

The carnivore needs no introduction: fearsome, cold and brutal. But G. A. Bradshaw, known for her psychological work with elephants, asks readers to reconsider. In “Carnivore Minds,” she argues [...]

Elli’s Ride: Death Beyond Imagination by Andrea Deerhart, Myth 2014

March 31, 2017

Sharing the upcoming release of my book Elli’s Ride: Death beyond Imagination. This was my production piece of my dissertation. It is an creative nonfiction of an 11 year old death and beyond She [...]

Inspired to Greatness: A Feminine Approach to Healing the World

March 29, 2017

Inspired to Greatness: A Feminine Approach to Healing the World Is it possible for a woman to be empowered and be happy? Exciting new release explores this question from a research perspective [...]

News from Pacifica’s student/alumni subcommittee of the Diversity & Inclusion Council (DIC) March 2017

March 29, 2017

News from Pacifica’s student/alumni subcommittee of the Diversity & Inclusion Council (DIC) March 2017 By Jana Hendricks We are proud to announce that Pacifica has recently hired three [...]

Get Out the Way: The Power of a Grandma by Beth Anne Boardman

March 17, 2017

Get Out the Way: The Power of a Grandma by Beth Anne Boardman, PhD Without getting into politics (cue hysterical laughter), per se, I would like to relate my wobbly path through current events. [...]

Seeing in the Dark: Wisdom Works by Black Women in Depth with Co-Author Dr. Patricia Taylor

March 4, 2017

Writing as a practice is something that doctorate students are advised to develop. Write everyday, we are told. I do my most productive writing when I am overflowing with feeling. The feelings [...]

Reducing Stigma of Mental Illness among Boys and Men in Asian Communities in Canada: An Innovative and Comprehensive Intervention by Rodrick Lal, MA Counseling 2008

February 27, 2017

the Movember Project: Strength and Unity. This is the First Grant Movember Project has granted to a mental health study. Reducing Stigma of Mental Illness among Boys and Men in Asian Communities [...]

Shelter in Place by Beth Anne Boardman

February 27, 2017

Shelter in Place ~ “Shelter in place:” a comforting as well as chilling phrase in this bewildering time. The idea that we can find shelter where we are – comforting! The idea that we need to [...]

An Interview with Dr. Paul Golding by Jill C. Griffin, PhD

February 15, 2017

Paul’s first encounter with Depth Psychology began more than twenty years ago when he still lived in Washington, DC. Like many, the difficult circumstances of life pushed Paul, “kicking and [...]

Morning Talk: Moving Beyond Painful Memories by Cynthia Hale

February 15, 2017

Morning Talk: Moving Beyond Painful Memories by Cynthia Hale February 18th Therapeutic work and other empathic relationships can be rooted in traumatic experience, unconsciously evoking a mutual [...]

2017 Alumni Spotlight Authors

January 19, 2017

Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association is proud to announce the following Alumni authors have answered the call and will be participating in 2017 Authors Spotlight! Join us Saturday, [...]

Los Angeles Region Winter 2016/2017 Newsletter

December 22, 2016

Winter A time of turning inward, we have settled into longer nights and a deeper darkness. An important season of gestation before the world is reborn with Spring. What internal stirrings need [...]

National Guild Member Testimonial: Kwame Scruggs

December 6, 2016

Kwame Scruggs is the founder and director of programs and training for Alchemy, Inc., a non-profit organization in Akron, Ohio established in 2003. Alchemy creates a safe environment for the [...]

New META Fellowships Provide Professional Development for Mass Teaching Artists

December 6, 2016

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Klarman Family Foundation have launched a new program to help teaching artists improve the quality of their work with youth in schools and community [...]

National Guild Member Testimonial: Kwame Scruggs

December 6, 2016

Post Election by Johanna Hays, Psy.D

December 3, 2016

On November 9, 2016, the United States of America awoke to the realization that our next president would be Donald Trump, and this news changed me. I suddenly saw the world from an altered [...]

Making Sense of the Election by Dana C. White, PhD

November 25, 2016

Photography by Andrew D. White Making Sense of the Election ______ Dana C. White, PhD As we learn from Joseph Campbell, myths provide orientation – they are ways to make sense of things that [...]

Trump. Prisons. Kids…and You by Harry Grammer

November 18, 2016

Trump. Prisons. Kids…and You. As I sat in my living room over a year ago watching the local network news I began flipping through channels looking for something that did not remind me of the [...]

20 Tips to Release Stress and Heal Trauma after this #&*^@ Election

November 16, 2016

Friends, The stress and trauma of this election cycle — and fears for the future — are real. Many are enduring abuse now in their daily lives. All of us are trying to metabolize a [...]

Introduction to Archetypal Activism by Craig Chalquist, PhD

November 15, 2016

Introduction to Archetypal Activism Craig Chalquist, PhD Chalquist.com If you are a citizen yearning to take intelligent action but not called to the activist path, or an activist burned out from [...]

On Grieving This Historic Moment by Tara E. Atherley

November 12, 2016

On Grieving This Historic Moment By: Tara E. Atherley, M.S.T., M.A. Psy, Doctoral Candidate, Depth Psychology with emphasis in Community, Liberation and Eco-Psychology To those of us who are [...]

Motherlines: Love, Longing, and Liberation by Patricia Reis

September 17, 2016

Motherlines Love, Longing, and Liberation Motherlines-500 Patricia Reis SheWritesPress Publication date: October 11, 2016 When she was twenty, Patricia Reis’s mother asked, “What about your [...]

The Image Making Capacity of Soul: A Conversation on Imaginal Figures in Everyday Life with Dr. Mary Harrell

September 14, 2016

Every once in a while, a term emerges on the horizon of my awareness which I find strikingly beautiful. In this case, it is the “image-making capacity of soul.” The language of soul is symbol, [...]

Owner Lupe Zuniga tastes some food in the kitchen for quality control at Lupe’s Mexican Restaurant in Thousand Oaks on Saturday.

August 8, 2016

TROY HARVEY/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Owner Lupe Zuniga tastes some food in the kitchen for quality control at Lupe’s Mexican Restaurant in Thousand Oaks on Saturday. By Amanda Covarrubias, [...]

What Attending Pacifica Gave Me by Craig Chalquist

August 8, 2016

From my first glance at the school emblem during an online search for PhD programs in psychology, I knew I would apply to Pacifica. Until then, what had come up in that search failed to appeal to [...]

TEDxAkron – Dr. Kwame Scruggs – Becoming the Hero Within Our Own Stories

May 25, 2016

The Pacifica Alumni Book Project is Complete!

April 19, 2016

Pacifica Graduate Institute: An Alumni Tribute to 40 Years of Tending Soul in and of the World Pacifica peeps, the alumni book project is complete–here’s a link to it on Amazon. In [...]

Anima Mundi Journeys with Jeannette Athena Rothweiler, MA MFT

April 15, 2016

Jeannette Athena Rothweiler, MA MFT I am pleased to share with my fellow alumni that I am again leading a group to Greece this September through Anima Mundi Journeys. We will travel in an [...]

Pacifica Alumnae, Dr. Jennifer Freed will present at upcoming CAMFT Spring Quarterly Luncheon

March 22, 2016

SBCAMFT & Antioch University Present: Empowering Teens with PeaceQ: How to use the teen brain to do great things Dr. Jennifer Freed will be discussing how to maximize the [...]

Befriending Writer’s Block – Philip Ruddy

March 17, 2016

Depth psychotherapist Philip Ruddy discusses breaking down writer’s block through exploring the unconscious, Active Imagination, and courage. By Brock Swinson. Philip Ruddy Philip Ruddy is a [...]

Pop Culture & American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Annual Conference 2016

March 14, 2016

2016 Annual Conference Marcy 22-25, 2016 • Seattle, Washington Hotel Sheraton Seattle The PCA/ACA is highly regarded in academe with well over 3,000 academic oral presentations [...]

Alumni In Action: Sharing the Journey – Veronica Marchese, 2015 PhD DP SOMA

March 12, 2016

As part of my dissertation journey for the past 2 years, I’ve created origami cranes with prayers connecting my work to global needs. I’ve created a couple mobiles using the cranes [...]

Grand Rounds at Columbia University with G. Kwame Scruggs

March 10, 2016

Dr. Carol Rizzolo, Cultural Mythologist

March 10, 2016

Dr. Carol Rizzolo’s personal and professional life has long been defined by membership in the family of helping professions. Following a brief career in Clinical Genetics and a 20+ year career [...]

Andrea Deerheart, founder of The HeartWay

March 10, 2016

Dr. Andrea Deerheart is the passionate founder of The HeartWay. She has gathered knowledge and wisdom from decades of guiding many people of all ages through the inevitable trials and [...]

Free Lecture – Frank McMillan – Depth Psychology and Education – March 10. 2016

February 26, 2016

You are invited! Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Free Public Lecture and Reception/Book Signing Dezombifying Higher Education: A Depth Psychological Approach with Frank McMillan, [...]

Psychotherapy’s Epic Pilgrim: The Inside Story of the Analytic Client

February 25, 2016

Psychotherapy’s Epic Pilgrim: The Inside Story of the Analytic Client July 18-22, 2016 Course Description The focus of this advanced seminar is on the lived experience of the analytic [...]

The Inner World of the First Half of Life: Analytical Psychology’s Forgotten Developmental Stage

February 23, 2016

Depth Psychology Spring Soiree for Oregon Pacifica Alum Date/Time: Saturday, March 12th, 2016 • 3 pm – 5 pm in Portland Topic: The Inner World of the First Half of Life: Analytical [...]

The Staying Sober Handbook by Howard Goodman, MA Counseling 2005

February 22, 2016

THE POLITICS OF ADDICTION – BIPARTISAN CONSENSUS ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL ON NEED FOR NEW TREATMENT OPTIONS TO STOP “EPIDEMIC” OF ADDICTION The presidential primary season is upon us and with it [...]

The Third Annual Florence Seminars

February 8, 2016

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN US FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL FLORENCE SEMINARS JULY 18-29, 2016 FLORENCE, ITALY REGISTER HERE THE 2016 SEMINARS INCLUDE: Mental Health Seminars The authentic calling [...]

Raw, Well-Cooked, and Burnt to a Crisp: Recovering from Burnout with Marilyn J. Owen, MA, LMFT

December 15, 2015

Raw, Well-Cooked, and Burnt to a Crisp: Recovering from Burnout with Marilyn J. Owen, MA, LMFT Please join us as we start the new year with our January luncheon on January 20, 2016 at 11:30 [...]

Ryan R. Adamczyk, M.A. Awarded Christine Downing Dissertation Fellowship

December 4, 2015

Christine Downing Dissertation Fellowship 2A15 – 2016 Award Recipient OPUS Archives and Research Center, lnc. is pleased to announce that Ryan R. Adamczyk, M.A. has been awarded the 2015 [...]

SLATTERY: Memorable mentors leave their mark

December 1, 2015

“Mentoring is not mind-control or indoctrination into a narrow corridor of beliefs. Rather, it is an avenue to liberation from such tyranny. Something in the process of the beneficiary of [...]

Black Lives Matter: The Psychologically Within and Psychologically Without of Race and Racism in Jungian Psychology

December 1, 2015

Fanny Brewster Present at Upcoming International Association for Analytical Psychology in collaboration with the Associazione Italiana di Psicologia Analitica (AIPA), the Associazione per la [...]

Symbolic Art of the Kabbalah Showcase by Joel Sloane – 11/1/15 to 1/31/16

November 25, 2015

Symbolic Art of the Kabbalah Showcase by Joel Sloane November 1st to January 31st Philadelphia My art has evolved over the past decade through my participation at the Whitemarsh Art Center in [...]

Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumna, Troy Byer Bailey MA, Communication Liberation Psychology/Ecopsychology (CLE) Depth Psychology Jungian and Archetypal Studies (DJA)

November 16, 2015

Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumnae, Troy Byer Bailey MA, Communication Liberation Psychology/Ecopsychology (CLE) Depth Psychology Jungian and Archetypal Studies (DJA) Student Born in New York [...]