Hi there! My name is Lauren and I am a writer and professor in the New Paltz area. I have always loved Jung’s work and am happy to be keeping track of this site. Below is an article I wrote about the center for our local newspaper, the Poughkeepsie Journal, in August 2006.  Again, please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments or questions at lauren@nyjungcenter.org

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The New York Center for Jungian Studies
For Poughkeepsie Journal
By Lauren Yanks

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist whose ideas helped to revolutionize our understanding of human nature. His theories about the collective unconscious, archetypes and synchronicity have become integral parts of society today.

People all over the world continue to study Jung, including Aryeh Maidenbaum, a Jungian analyst who founded The New York Center for Jungian Studies in New Paltz more than 14 years ago.

"My passion is to bring Jung's ideas to the general public," said Maidenbaum, who served as executive director of the Jung Foundation of New York before moving to the Hudson Valley and starting his own center, originally in High Falls. "Jung's understanding of humanity helps everyone to explore the relevance of his ideas to their lives. It's not just for mental health professionals."

Jung emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology and religion. He also emphasized the importance of balance. He cautioned that humans today rely too heavily on logic and science and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of the unconscious realm. Sigmund Freud, who had collaborated with Jung until they started to develop different ideas, was an atheist, while Jung felt there was room for spirituality in psychology.

"I don't feel Jung had a monopoly on the psyche, but his ideas are building blocks that provide a framework for taking psychology further," Maidenbaum said. "Even the makers of the popular personality test, Myers-Briggs, say their test was inspired by Jung's psychology."

Maidenbaum is a graduate of the Jung Institute of Zurich and has written several books and articles about psychology. His wife and co-director, Diana Rubin, has a background in social work. Once a year in Rhinebeck, their center hosts one of the world's most prestigious conferences on Jung called "Jung on the Hudson Seminar Series." Participants from all over the world travel to Rhinebeck to exchange ideas about Jung's work and its influence on society.

"I have been attending the Jung-on-the-Hudson conference in the Catskills for seven years," said Susan James, a counselor in private practice in Connecticut. "I return because of the consistent high quality, world-class presenters, the great opportunities to network and the exceptional quality of the conference itself."

This year the conference took place in July and dealt with issues on family and community as well as mind, memory and healing. Week one was titled "Needing to Belong: The Archetype of Family & Community," and expanded on Jung's view that a lack of family, tribe or community can create feelings of alienation and despair, while sharing common roots and values creates connectedness and a strong sense of self.

Week two was entitled "Memory, Mind & Meaning: How We Heal," and examined the newest findings of mind/brain research. The new research being done helps people to understand how memory and emotion interface and looks at the roles archetypes and personal myths play in our development. 

"My interest is making neuroscience accessible to everyone," said Margaret Wilkinson, an analyst from Britain who presented at the conference and whose book, "Coming Into Mind," explores the mind-body relationship from a Jungian clinical perspective. "Conferences like these helps people to see where they're headed in life more clearly."

About half of the conference attendees were mental health professionals, but there were also nurses, teachers, artists and others who just wanted to understand how Jung's ideas can help them in their own lives.

"I am drawn to Jung's articulation of the feminine principle," said Judith Asphar, an environmental activist who lives in Scotland but flew in to attend the conference. "So many of society's problems are systemic because the feminine principle - the principle of caring and connectedness - is disregarded. We need to stop betraying the feminine."

The conference also helped therapists find new ways to grow in their work.

"I loved the conference," said Myrna Little, a clinical psychologist and a Jungian analyst in private practice in Dallas. "The setting was lovely and conducive to fertilization of ideas and relationships. I brought home not only information to use in several teaching settings, but motivation to do the homework required. Every speaker was inspired and inspiring."

Along with their annual conference in the Hudson Valley, the New York Center for Jungian Studies holds study tours and conferences titled "Jung in Ireland". These programs combine study of a certain aspect of Jung with travel and study of the landscape. Next year's "Jung in Ireland" program will take place in springtime in the sunny Southeast county of Kilkenny.

The first program in Ireland, "A Rich Tapestry: Mid-Life and Beyond", will be from March 3-10, 2007. This conference will examine how during the second half of life, priorities begin to shift and people look more into finding meaning and spirit.

Jung's writings and work reflect a belief in the potential for individuation and growth, especially from mid-life onwards.

"Issues of aging come up for everyone," Maidenbaum said. "Going to a conference like this forces you to deal with them. It helps show the positive aspects of transformation and change as you mature, instead of just focusing on the negative and struggling through it alone."

From April 14-21, there will be "Ireland's Sacred Landscape: A Study/Tour in Celtic Myth and Legend." It will combine visits to historic sites with study sessions on Celtic mythology and legends. The Jungian faculty will help examine the myths, and a leading Irish archaeologist will guide the study tour.

Along with their two main seminars in the Hudson Valley and Ireland, the New York Center for Jungian Studies has held study tours and conferences in Spain, Israel, Jordan, and Cuba, among others. The center chooses a Jungian theme such as nature or religion, and then they travel to a particular country and combine study with exploration.

Maidenbaum and Rubin hope their programs will continue to foster the examination of Jung's ideas, as well as to help his ideas to grow.

"Jungian psychology didn't die with Jung," Maidenbaum said. "In fact, it just got going. Jung used to say that he expected his students and followers to expand on his ideas, and that's just what we're trying to do at our center."

If you go:
All programs at the New York Center for Jungian Studies, 27 N. Chestnut St., New Paltz, are open to the general public and mental health professionals, and are approved by the American Psychological Association and offer continuing education credits in certain areas

For information about upcoming conferences or programs, call 845-256-0191 or go to www.nyjungcenter.org

Some Jungian Terms:
The collective unconscious refers to that part of a person's unconscious which is common to all human beings. It contains archetypes, which are symbols manifested by all people and are part of the human psyche.

The shadow is the unconscious aspect of a person that is opposite of the conscious self. It often represents things that the conscious person does not wish to acknowledge about themselves.

Synchronicity is the experience of having two or more things happen coincidentally in a manner that is meaningful to the person and suggests an underlying pattern.