ABOUT THE C.G. JUNG FOUNDATION

Newsletter of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario

ISSN 1918-6142

Chiron is a newsletter that exists to support the work of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario. It was established in 1980, and has existed in electronic form since 2006. Its name and masthead image, adopted at that time, are drawn from ancient Greek culture. In Greek mythology, Chiron was the last centaur, a son of the titan Cronus. He was famed for his wisdom, knowledge and skill at deciphering the will of the gods, to healing effect.

Chiron

Volume 35, No. 1 Summer 2015

Editor: Robert Black

PDF version of this issue for easier printing

 

Contents

 

 

New Graduates

At the most recent graduation ceremony of the OjA Analyst Training Programme, the following three individuals received their diploma in Analytical Psychology, and subsequently became members of OAJA.

24. Nimi Menon

Nimi is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Montreal.

25. Jane Smith-Eivemark

JaneJane became a Jungian analyst to deepen her understanding of the soul, with a view to helping others as well as herself to become more whole. Together, her philosophy, theology, and psychology form a marriage of many questions that she actively seeks to address by being present in her clinical work, in her new found interest in woodworking, and in her love of music and stories. 

Jane is hoping to interview a number of analysts (and other healthcare professionals) in the context of a new video project on our need for a new mythology (and other such questions) with co-producer Danute Kudaba. Jane is now serving on the advisory committee for a new diploma program in Buddhist Mindfulness and Mental Health offered by Emmanuel College within the Toronto School of Theology. She is passionate about finding ways to help bring forward her vision for a Centre for Interfaith Studies and The Psychology of the Soul.

Jane and her husband, Philip, live in Hamilton.  They have three daughters: Sarah, Kate, and Alex.

26. Christopher Wilkes

WilkesChris is a native of Stratford Upon Avon in England and loves nature, theatre and music.  His thesis was on "The Phantom of the Opera: a tale of Eros and the quest for healing." He lives with wife, three children and two grandchildren in Calgary, and works in Calgary as Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Paediatrics, as well as an active member and former President of the Calgary Jungian Society. He is the first Jungian Child Adolescent Psychiatrist in the country.

Chris was a regular participant in training activities for over a decade, no mean feat when he came from so far away, and was always welcomed by those who knew him in that context. He has a deep appreciation for in the work of Canada's first Jungian Analysts, John Allen from British Columbia with his interest in children's art, and the UK Analyst Renos Papadopoulos whose work emphasized the link between family epistemology and archetypal theory especially for immigrant families.

Chris has family, sister, cousin and aunts in the Brampton area and will continue to be a proud and regular attendee at the OAJA meetings..

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Psychotherapy is now a Regulated Profession

On April 1st, 2015 the Psychotherapy Act (2007) was proclaimed into law creating the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO).  While it is the responsibility of each individual to determine if their practice falls within the scope of practice set out in the Psychotherapy Act, a number of OAJA members practicing in Ontario have applied through the grandparenting route and have been accepted as members of the CRPO.  Those accepted to the college are now required to use the RP or Registered Psychotherapist designation wherever they hold themselves out as practitioners of psychotherapy in the province. 

Existing and potential psychotherapy clients can now consult the CRPO membership directory to learn if a psychotherapist has met college registration requirements and therefore agrees to be abide by college regulations.  We understand that the CRPO is continuing to work through applications and we are likely to see more RPs and additions to the membership directory in the months to come.

The CRPO joins 24 regulatory colleges in the province governed under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA).  With an objective of public protection the RHPA mandates that each college have regulations regarding registration, professional development, and misconduct.  The CRPO now has statutory authority to ensure that college members are accountable as health care professionals.

The Psychotherapy Act (2007) included the Controlled Act of Psychotherapy—the legislated definition of what it means to practice psychotherapy—which has not been proclaimed causing some to wonder what this means for the college and for psychotherapists.  The CRPO communiqué dated April 16, 2015 indicates that in spite of the Controlled Act not being proclaimed the college is in force and has authority granted through legislation.  The CRPO also notes that the controlled act is not a defining characteristic of regulatory colleges since social workers and occupational therapists, for example, do not have controlled acts.  Since use of the Controlled Act of Psychotherapy was to be granted to five other regulatory colleges (physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists) the delay in proclamation of the controlled act means that only members of the CRPO can use the title psychotherapist or registered psychotherapist. 

OAJA participated as a stakeholder in the mid-2000s with the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) when the need for regulation was being contemplated and then starting in 2009 with the Transitional Council of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario that began to develop regulations and policy.  Everyone seemed aware of the challenge of regulating a profession that included a wide range of modalities taught in a variety of settings from private training programs to universities.  A contemporary approach that promised a workable solution was to develop a competency-based model identifying skills required by a psychotherapist to enter the profession.  The competency-based approach allows psychotherapy training programs to adapt their curricula to ensure their graduates are competent in the areas described by the CRPO while both remaining true to their origins and allowing them to exceed CRPO standards if they wish.  OAJA has reviewed the competencies closely and continues to train analysts in its Analyst Training Program following the Jungian tradition.

For those of us who applied via the grandparenting route the application process began in April 2014.  The application process is entirely online and virtually paperless with any required documents submitted by scanning the document and uploading the electronic file.  We understood from watching the development of the regulations that the grandparenting process would hold applicants to a rigorous standard.  Preparing an application was a lengthy process of collecting supporting documentation about past course work, client hours, and supervision.  Applicants were also required to provide evidence and describe their understanding of the “Safe and Effective Use of Self” (SEUS) which is considered a core competency of the profession of psychotherapy.  While SEUS as a label was unfamiliar to many in this newly described profession, as Jungian Analysts we understood the essence of the notion that sits at the core of why personal analysis is central to analytic training.      

The grandparenting route to entry will be available until March 31, 2017 for those who qualify, otherwise, new practitioners will use the regular route to entry.  Once regular route applicants can show they are on the way to fulfilling requirements for training, client hours, and supervision they will be required to sit an entrance exam intended to assess their competence.

In the months to come college members can expect to learn more from the CRPO about requirements for on-going professional development—a requirement of many professional psychotherapy associations but now mandated in regulation.

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"We all must do just what Christ did. We must make our experiment. We must make mistakes. We must live out our own vision of life. And there will be error. If you avoid error you do not live."

C. G. Jung, C.G. Jung Speaking, p. 98

 

Our Neighbours to the East: the Quebec Group of Jungian Analysts

by Rosemary Murray-Lachapelle

The voting society of analysts in Quebec, group member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) is called the Association of Jungian Psychoanalysts of Quebec (APJQ). It was founded in 1988 as a professional association open to Jungian analysts who have obtained a diploma from any accredited institute of Analytical Psychology approved by the IAAP.
 
They're a different kettle of fish than OAJA, partly because they're bilingual in their operations and a smaller group, but also because they are not caught up in the demanding work of running a training programme. They do have the wonderful tradition of an annual all-day meeting in someone's home which starts with coffee and croissants in the morning and includes a midday meal à la française with things like quiche lorraine and good wine. The first year I was a member we met monthly and activities were concentrated on local arrangements of the IAAP Montreal conference in 2010.
 
In Quebec, member analysts practice under the title of Jungian psychoanalyst or Jungian analyst. The Association represents the professional interests and concerns of Jungian Analysts practising in Quebec and through its code of ethics regulates Jungian professional practice. 
 
Goals of the APJQ are to ensure that levels of professional standards are maintained, to provide a certain number of hours of professional meetings and exchanges for its members; and to offer, when appropriate and possible, public seminars of professional enrichment to individuals who are already working in the helping professions and are interested in enhancing their clinical skills and knowledge through an exploration of Jungian concepts.
 
Currently, there are nine member analysts practicing in Quebec. They are graduates of training programmes in Zurich, in the United States, and in Canada (OAJA). Across the province, most members work in private practice with analysands using the modalities of dream analysis and sandplay, provide clinical supervision, present lectures, conferences and workshops locally and internationally, and lead cultural groups such as film clubs and reading groups.
 
Tom Kelly, current president of the IAAP, is a member of the Quebec group, and this helps to explain how the APJQ group came to host the Montreal conference. Others write and publish – many Ontario folk will know the writings of Guy Corneau – and teach at universities in Quebec and occasionally abroad.  Daniel Bordeleau is a physician who shares Jungian insights with the doctors and psychiatrists at the Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine where he works, and is “professeur adjoint de clinique" in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal. The OAJA training programme has been fortunate to have had Jan Bauer, Tom Kelly and Yvon Rivière  teach in it.
 
Analyst members in Montreal cooperate with the C.G. Jung Society of Montreal which was established in 1975 and has a long tradition of sponsoring lectures, workshops, and reading seminars. The Society also publishes a newsletter.

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Our Neighbours to the West: the Western Canadian Association of Jungian Analysts

by Peggy Voth

OAJA has been my Jungian home for the past ten years – eight as a student and two as an analyst-member. Now I am leaving that home, having given my hand in partnership to WCAJA.

The third society in Canada to gain voting status with IAAP – along with OAJA and the Quebec Society – WCAJA received recognition as a non-training member-society in 2010. We are a spirited group centered around Jung’s analytical psychology.

Out of this vibrancy and enthusiasm, the first-ever Canadian conference for Jungian analysts took place the end May this year. As this newsletter goes to press, we are basking in the afterglow of an enjoyable and fruitful gathering of analysts from all over Canada.

Our conference theme, “The Canadian Psyche,” generated talks on Canadian history, literature, indigenous influences and wildlife. Stories about the beginnings of analytical psychology in various provinces were told. We had round-table discussions, a panel highlighting regional images that appear in our analytic practices, and a visual celebration of our landscape.  At our banquet, we tested our knowledge of Canadian trivia. A French-Canadian duo of fiddle and guitar strengthened our sense of community by leading us in group dances and sing-alongs. Throughout the weekend, we discussed future directions for promoting Jung’s psychology in Canadian culture, shared meals together and came to know each other as comrades in assisting the process of individuation.

Such a gathering has been a hope and a dream for a number of analysts – especially the earliest Canadian analysts – for a very long time. I am proud to have played a part in making this symposium happen.

WCAJA has eight members. Our membership is open to Jungian analysts residing in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We meet several times a year via teleconference. Once a year we come together for a retreat weekend, alternating locations between Alberta and British Columbia. These weekends give us an opportunity to catch up with what is going on in the Jungian world, to participate in professional development and to experience camaraderie. We also address matters of the Society’s infrastructure and conduct our AGM during these retreat weekends. (Our website is www.wcaja.org)

I live in Calgary, Alberta, and currently fill the position of secretary with WCAJA. As of July, I will no longer be a member of OAJA. However, OAJA is my alma mater, and I shall always remember it with gratitude. I value the container for Psyche that the training program provided me. I cherish the friendships, the memories and the personal growth that came out of my involvement with OAJA. In return for those boons, I consciously strive to both utilize and build on the competence and knowledge that OAJA formed in me through the training program.

To me, it is a privilege to have trained in Canada. This short article is my farewell piece, and my public expression of thanks to OAJA and its people.

Banff

Symposium attendees: John Hoedl, Marilyn Conroy, Judith Slimmon, Shirley Halliday, Marlene Brouwer, Tom Kelly, Muriel McMahon, Christina Becker, Josephine Evetts-Secker, Greg Mogenson, Catherine Ellis, Name Withheld, Peggy Voth, Craig Stephenson, Mae Stolte, Chris Wilkes. Front Row: Beaty Popescu, Marcel Gaumond, John Betts. Missing: Zeljko Matijevic.

Take off your watch

by Robert Black

The crone’s gaze was arresting and penetrating. “I’ll help you,” she said to me, “if you take off your watch.”

This encounter has been a pivotal one for me. It has altered my view of time. It took place many years ago, as the result of an exercise in Active Imagination. (Most readers will be familiar with this practice, which in its Jungian form involves returning consciously to a dream in the attempt to connect consciously with the Unconscious and bridge imaginatively with it.) The dream to which I returned for that purpose will remain private, but suffice it to say that in it I was then just as busy, pre-occupied and not-very-open to suggestions from the Unconscious as I had then been in waking life.

When I asked my question, it was with the conscious knowledge that I had, as they say, “really messed up.” In the dream, I had been offered a possibility by the Unconscious that required attention, devotion, and above all, time to realize. And my instant reaction was, No! But waking awareness brought Jung’s following words to mind:

[W]e have plunged down a cataract of progress which sweeps us on into the future with ever wilder violence the farther it takes us from our roots … which has given rise … to such a flurry and haste that we live more in the future and its chimerical promises of a golden age than in the present, with which our whole evolutionary background has not yet caught up.    Memories, Dreams, Reflections

I removed my watch that day, and virtually never wear it unless I’m “on the road” and others would be inconvenienced by my late or early arrival.

I am often reminded of my bare wrist – and its relationship to my encounter with the Unconscious and with Jung’s words – when I go out into the busy downtown of Toronto. So few of the people I see are actually looking at what surrounds them; most have their heads down as they walk and their eyes are glued to the screen of a cellphone. (Recently I discovered that “the cell” is now classed in law as a computer, which has privacy implications we should become aware of.) I don’t deny the usefulness of these devices, although so far I have avoided getting one. I just wonder how much “flurry and haste” a body can take.

Our whole culture, our so-called civilization, lives at a frantic pace. We fly from distant spot to distant spot, missing the winding road and so much of the journey. Some of us are so slammed with email tsunamis that we do well just to keep our head above the water. We have so many obligations, and sometimes so much forced competition in and constant fear around their realization, that we miss the possibility of relationship – and the hazy but revolutionary chance encounters that Eros likes to throw our way. Who can live like that? Who should live like that?

As he contemplated this problem – which, with time, has only gotten much worse – Jung was very much struck by Lao Tzu’s concept of Wu Wei, the important tenet of Taoism that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. (Vincent Brome’s introductory chapter in Jung: Man and Myth talks about this.) Wu Wei is a means of describing how beings and phenomena that are wholly in harmony with the Tao – the intuitive “knowing” of life – behave in a completely uncontrived way. Wu Wei is effortless doing. The universe already works harmoniously, according to its own ways. By exerting their “agency” and will against or onto the world, people naturally can disrupt that harmony and therefore it is how one acts, in relation to existing processes, that becomes important. Our intention and motivation, the Tao of how, is key.

Thus Wu Wei becomes the goal of spiritual practice or, for Jungians, the mark of a conscious life: uncontrived, natural, unhastened, balanced, and aware.

We are a part of this culture, as much as it may sometimes make us shake our heads. Its health and its wellbeing are concerns for all of us. Even just the awareness that there is a problem helps. We are not deficient as individuals – though our complexes might accuse us of so being – it is that our evolution simply has not prepared us to live at this accelerated pace.

Perhaps we can become more helpful and more useful members of our society if we, too, live in the here-and-now instead of anticipating the future. If something is sticky or apparently insoluble, give the Unconscious time to make its contribution, and let the Tao of the situation begin to reveal what might come of it. Not everything can be done now. Some things can apparently never be done. But sometimes miracles are in the making. In the meantime, we can always breathe, and relate, and laugh or cry with what is right in front of us. And if we do these things, and take off our watches, we might feel considerably better.

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"The dead who besiege us are souls who have not fulfilled the principium individuationis, or else they would have become distant stars. Insofar as we do not fulfill it, the dead have a claim on us and besiege us and we cannot escape them."

C. G. Jung, The Red Book, Appendix C, p. 37

 

Analysts Retreat

Last Fall, for the first time, the analyst-members of OAJA held a residential social retreat.

We had long bemoaned the fact that so much of our available energy was focused on necessary and detailed projects, which reduced almost to nil our capacity to socialize. And yet what does Jung talk about, in life, but the necessity of balance?

Our gathering, therefore, at a charming inn on the shores of Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, was a balm to the individual and our collective soul. Work was forbidden, and we talked and drank and walked and ate and drank some more. It would be fair to say that we know each other better as a result of our time together. And if it is possible, that we like each other even more.

Here is an image of the group as we wound up our time together. Left to right: Robert Black, John Affleck, Laurie Savlov, Tim Pilgrim, Paul Benedetto, Beverley Bond Clarkson, Donna Morrison-Reed, John Dourley, Patti Brannigan, Helen Brammer Savlov, Caroline Duetz.

Analysts Retreat

Farewell to 223 St Clair West (Again)

by Edith Leslie

It breaks my heart to see those ugly commercial boards surrounding the beautiful old home of the C. G. Jung Foundation of Ontario. 

No doubt this gracious old house, together with its neighbours, is being torn down soon to make room for some modern and very efficient residences which will rise many stories above the current buildings. But while it was inhabited by the Jung Foundation, it saw much heartbreak, much desire for understanding, and also much hope. It experienced enlightenment, joy in comprehension, comfort and growth. 

Some warm friendships have arisen among the people who came here searching for answers and who are even now keeping in touch with each other. I like to think that the positive spirits which still swirl around 223 will rise up into the new building and entice the minds of its new occupants. Well, we can hope....

SUBMISSIONS TO CHIRON

The C.G. Jung Foundation’s members and friends are very welcome to submit pieces for publication in Chiron. We would particularly welcome short articles (under 1000 words) on archetypal material, and very short (under 500 words) “book notes” and film reviews. Longer pieces can be negotiated, especially if serialization is possible.

We very sincerely promise that our responsibility to cast an eagle editorial eye over these submissions will be lightly and not impertinently applied, and that you will see beforehand any results of our meddling; so that the full essence of your insights and the character of your “voice” is kept safe and sound in the published version.

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Hyperlinks in the electronic version of Chiron do not imply or constitute endorsement of the organization or individual concerned, and are provided as a courtesy in current issues only. The C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario is not responsible for the content of such sites.

 

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