A Seminar on the Polarized Psyche and its Threat to our Democracy

Friday, May 31 from 6 - 8:30 pm

This evening seminar provides an opportunity for further consideration of themes addressed in recent programs, namely how the increase of psychic polarization and the rise of authoritarianism pose a threat to both inner and outer democracy. Jung once wrote that “True democracy is a highly psychological institution that takes account of human nature as it is and makes allowances for the necessity of conflict within its own national boundaries.” In this program, Don Kalsched and Dick Sweeney will initiate a discussion of how healthy democracy requires and facilitates a movement through our inner conflicts and beyond our collective defenses. They will offer this introduction to an evening of engaging interaction with participants.

Dick Sweeney, Ph.D, IAAP, is a Jungian analyst, an associate professor, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, and a former Roman Catholic priest. He holds a Master of Arts in English literature from Xavier University, and master’s degrees in both philosophy and theology from the Athenaeum of Ohio’s Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati where he remained for 19 years. During that time he received his doctorate in Psychology and Religion from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. 

Donald Kalsched, PhD, IAAP, is a Jungian psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist. He is a senior faculty member and supervisor with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, and teaches and leads workshops nationally and internationally. His celebrated book, The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defenses of the Personal Spirit, explores the interface between contemporary psychoanalytic theory and Jungian theory as it relates to clinical work with survivors of early childhood trauma. His recent book, Trauma and the Soul: A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Human Development and its Interruption, explores the mystical dimensions of clinical work with trauma survivors.