Dr. Nancy van den Berg-Cook: How Do We Actually DO 'Inner Work' -- Alchemy Provides A Road Map!

Dr. Nancy van den Berg-Cook

How do we actually DO 'Inner Work' -- Alchemy provides a road map

Alchemy is the language of the unconscious -- i.e., images and emotions. This was Jung's great discovery. It tells us, using metaphors, that we must go through changes in our steps towards healing and/or finding our creativity. 

The stages of Alchemy (operations) describe the various possible steps we go through. When we dream them, or notice them all around us, it means we are likely in that phase ourselves. Recognising which phase we are in helps us make use of it and get through it! In this plenary, using case examples and experiential exercises, we will learn about some of the steps in an alchemical transformation, so that we can recognise them as part of our own process and to help us find guidance and inspiration for psychological healing and growth.

Recommended reading: Edward F. Edinger, Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy (Open Court Publ., 1999).

Nancy is a Clinical Psychologist and Jungian Psychoanalyst providing in-depth psychotherapy and coaching in the Netherlands and internationally. She has taught in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Pacifica Graduate Institute and participates at ISAPZURICH. Nancy also gives webinars and trainings on her new project "The Empathy Revolution," and on Archetypes and Narratives of our Cultural Complexes.