Jung Platform™, Depth Psychology Alliance™, and Shrink Rap Radio™ have joined forces to bring new educational content in the fields of Jungian and depth psychology. The online book club is a collaborative project that allows interested individuals to connect directly with authors, engage with their work, and to interact on a one-on-one basis.
Join us for free access to an interview with the author, weekly teleseminars (dates and times to come), a written discussion forum here in the Book Club, and more. Plus--supplement this material with an audio presentation by David Schoen from Jung Platform
The January 2013 selection is The War of the Gods in Addiction, based on the correspondence between Bill W., one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and C.G. Jung, proposes an original, groundbreaking, psychodynamic view of addiction which explains both the creation and successful treatment of alcoholism and other addictions.
Using insights from Jungian psychology, it demonstrates why the 12 steps of AA really work. It emphasizes the crucial process of neutralizing the Archetypal Shadow / Archetypal Evil, an aspect of all true addictions, and explores this concept extensively through theoretical and clinical material, modern and ancient myths, and fairy tales.
The significance of using dreams for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of addiction is also explained. This book bridges the longstanding gap between the mental health community and 12-step recovering communities and translates concepts necessary to understanding the addictive process in ways that encourage mutual understanding and benefit.
Click here for more details and commentary on the book, plus a look at the Table of Contents for The War of the Gods in Addiction
Click here for full info on the January 2013 Book Club
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who participated in the January 2013 Book Club--both here in the written forum as well as on the four weekly teleconference/Q&A sessions with David. For your convenience, here are links to download/listent to the four archived sessions:
Replies
Hi Paul. Welcome to the group. I think your comments echo the depth psychological perspective very well--in that, while all disease has some kind of psychological aspect, addiction carries so much of it upfront. Delving into our dreams and other depth methods to get to the unconscious can be very powerful. Hope you'll be joining us on the all tonight. Would love for you to share this with the group and get David's perspective as well...
Hi everyone. FYI, if you're participating here in the Book Club this month and are planning to join David for the 4-week teleseminar series, the access info for tonight, Week 1, is here: http://www.depthinsights.com/pages/teleconference-instructions.html Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions, and enjoy the event!
I enjoyed the session though tried several times to ask a question (once when i thought i was unmuted, once the other way and neither worked. perhaps others were having same problem. AA's founders and AA members today speak of alcoholism as a disease and not an Archetypal Evil. I think to do so would create an uproar since we try to keep everything focused on the new recovering alcoholic who'd probably dash for the door if we did. What applicability does David feel this concept has for AA members? is it something just for the Jungian analyst working with alcoholics? I'd also like to hear his thoughts on AA's central theme of one alcoholic working with another alcoholic as key to the program and where the Jungian analyst comes in on all this.
FROM DAVID
Karen and Tascha,
On the question of addiction being either a “disease” or constructed with “archetypal shadow/archetypal evil” as a component, they are not inherently contradictory or mutually exclusive to each other—just different—a different lens to look at the phenomenon. I have no problem with the “disease” concept. I’m just saying that this disease carries an archetypal evil/archetypal shadow in its DNA. If anyone thinks differently, please say so!
Hi Karen. I'm an alcoholic and have worked the steps a number of times. My experience in AA has been at times very frustrating because I love soul work and am a natural seeker. The program's primary purpose is to help alcoholics achieve sobriety. Sobriety and a deep understanding of how one arrived at this destination of addiction are two different things. I experienced the focus on a 'disease' to be cured as a means to keep people coming back and not shaming them. It gives the rational mind an answer, some explanation as to 'why me?'. In the end, the answer does not matter, just the action and commitment taken by the alcoholic to change. The demographics of alcoholics are as variable as anywhere else and this means most aren't versed in psychological vocabulary, and archetypal work. It was hard for me to hang close to the program because I rarely found the depth of questions and answers that I was looking. I had to go outside of the program to satisfy my need on this level. That said, the beauty of the program is entire thing is a 'suggestion' and you can make it what you like. For me this meant finding groups of people I resonated the most with, and moreover individuals with which I could work one on one with. Working with other alcoholics has a number of functions. 1. it puts the focus on something other than yourself, so the obsessive mind gripped by thoughts of using, gets a rest and one stays sober longer 2. it helps to neutralize the addictive ego by helping the individual realize they are not alone or unique (addiction seems to produce narcissism and feelings of superior uniqueness and therefore allows that ego to deny help and remain in charge) 3. it helps to integrate shadow - there is nothing like seeing another's addiction and shadow so plainly at work and then realizing 'hey that's me too'. I'm not sure where an analyst comes inserts in all of this (I am not one) but simple understanding of the addict experience is invaluable.
4. working with others also allows one to benchmark progress on shadow integration and helps to bring awareness to shadow pieces yet to be integrated
Hi Karen. Now THAT's a bummer. I'll revisit that testy console and make sure I have the technology down for next week. I appreciate your patience and your readiness to jump in. Luckily, several other participants were able to ask their questions and I really appreciated the discussion.
Meanwhile, I think the question you bring up here about the core terminology--"disease" vs. "archetypal evil"--is compelling. What do others think?
First I want to thank you creating this riveting Jungian/AA work. It has brought a lot of personal shadows and experiences to light. I'm excited about what the discussion threads will produce.
My first discussion point is about the "need" for a religious conversion in order to overcome the overwhelming power of the addiction. I can identify with this concept, however, it also raises questions as to whether we as individuals "need" a belief in a higher power in order to individualize. There is also discussion later in your book about AA being more effective for non-believers. Can you provide some additional context around the archetypal basis/need for a god relationship? In particular, if a spiritual conversion is necessary for combating the addictive state, how does the conversion work with those of faith or those returning after relapse?
"An ordinary man not protected by action above and isolated by society cannot resist the power of evil, which is called aptly the devil." (Carl Jung letter)
FROM DAVID:
What I meant about non-believers was that my book explains why AA works through a psychodynamic explanation which non-AA believers can relate to on a more scientific basis. It is necessary to neutralize the archetypal evil /archetypal shadow element of the addiction.
-David
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