Dear Pacifica Community,

The beginning of February marks the start of Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black Excellence, a term used to describe the individual contributions, perseverance, achievements, and successes of the Black community. The 2023 theme for Black History Month, set by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), is Black Resistance.

Evolution and Growth in the Integrative Therapy and Healing Program: An Interview with Juliet Rohde-Brown, Ph.D.

Dear Members of the Pacifica Community,

I​ am delighted to share that, effective February 1, 2023, Dr. Loraine Devos-Comby, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Learning, will be stepping into the role of Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs while we prepare to conduct a national search​ to select a permanent ​appointment to that position.  On behalf of the Pacifica community, let me extend sincere appreciation to Dr. Peter M. Rojcewicz for his service as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs over the previous three years. In the coming weeks, I will share details of Dr. Peter's continued contributions to the Pacifica community.

World-Bridging and Shapeshifting: Touching Base with Mary A. Wood, Ph.D.

Mary A. Wood, Ph.D., is the Chair of the M.A. Depth Psychology and Creativity with Emphasis in the Arts and Humanities program, which is currently accepting applications for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 (visit the program here). She will be presenting the webinar “World-Bridging and Shapeshifting: Soul, Image, and Imagination in Gloria Anzaldúa, James Hillman, and C.G. Jung” on January 13th. I’m delighted to speak with Mary about her upcoming webinar and also about her program.

Soulcraft™: A Guide to the Numinous Depths

An Interview with Brian Stafford, M.D., M.P.H.

“Soulcraft skills and practices evoke the world-shifting experience of soul encounter —the revelation of our unique mythopoetic identity, an identity expressed through symbol and metaphor, image and dream, archetype and myth, an identity embodied in a mysterious story that whispers to us in moments of expanded awareness and exquisite aliveness.”

“Introduction to Soulcraft™” with Doug Van Houten and Brian Stafford will be a zoom workshop from Pacifica, October 28-30, 2022. For more information, visit our website. Brian Stafford is “a guide to the wilderness of nature and soul” and “an agent of cultural awakening and transformation.” I’m delighted to be speaking with him.

Cultural Complexes and the Mythopoetic Imagination in the 21^st Century: An Interview with Thomas Singer, Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas Singer will be giving a keynote presentation, “Portals to the Imaginal in a Digital Era: Cultural Complexes and the Mythopoetic Imagination in the 21^st Century,” for Pacifica’s upcoming event, “Portals to the Imaginal: Re-Visioning Depth Psychology for the 21^st Century,” on October 7-9, 2022. An immersive learning event in celebration of the campus re-opening of Pacifica. For more details, visit us here.

Having come through the pandemic as a strong community at Pacifica, there is a delight and a joy in convening once again on campus for the 2022-23 school year, which our reopening conference, “Portals to the Imaginal: Re-Visioning Depth Psychology for the 21st Century”, will celebrate. Emily Chow-Kambitsch, Co-Chair and Associate Core Faculty in our Mythological Studies program, will be presenting a paper on “Women’s Memoirs in Greek Tragedy,” as well as facilitating “Mythic Meditation: Labyrinth.” I’m delighted to be speaking to Emily about her work.

Angela: Let’s begin with the thing that first caught my eye and imagination, the labyrinth. I count visiting the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, cast in the colors of stained glass reflections, as one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Yet that is a representation of the labyrinth that is far from the mysterious maze in which one might become lost, might never emerge, and beware the Minotaur lurking at the heart of it. Do you conceive of the labyrinth as a metaphor for the psyche, that when we explore within, we may expect to meet the mystery, become lost, and face what we fear? Why would anyone set foot into a maze they might not emerge from?

Dear Members of the Pacifica Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Presidential/CEO Search Committee, we are proud to announce Dr. Leonie Mattison as the incoming President and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Dylan Hoffman, Ph.D., is a relatively new addition to the faculty of Pacifica’s Jungian & Archetypal Studies program. I’m excited to learn more about his perspective and teaching.

Angela: You began your career at Pacifica in our M.A./Ph.D. program in Jungian & Archetypal Studies (DJA). What attracted you to Pacifica, and in particular the study of Archetypes?

The margins of consciousness have shifted. The original conception of “the unconscious” as a meaningful and influential force needs reformulation. Ideas associated with depth psychology have been increasingly adopted into the mainstream of modern culture, such as the ubiquitous influence of unconscious processes on behavior or archetypal elements operating in society. But if depth psychology is to retain relevancy, it needs to be contemporized and revitalized—What might that mean? And how might we go about it?