Trauma, Transcendence, and Jung’s Notion of the Psychoid—Interview with Ann Belford Ulanov

transcendence

Jungian analyst, Ann Belford Ulanov’s most recent book, The Psychoid, Soul and Psyche: Piercing Space-Time Barriers, explores Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of the “psychoid.”

“Psychoid refers to unconscious processes that are unrepresentable in word or image,” Ulanov says. “We live them, but we don’t know about them. And they can make us feel mad, not angry, but crazy, and I believe they can also be a third source of healing.”

Jung described the unus mundus, or “one world,” as more than psychological. It also has social, international, environmental, chemical, and cosmological properties.

Ulanov is interested in the effects of experiencing the unus mundus, or one world, in a clinical setting, especially when it deals with grave matters like the suffering of trauma.

We all develop coping mechanisms that help us survive trauma, but over time those mechanisms can also cause us to suffer, as they no longer serve us. The psychoid, with its ability to bring forth an experience of unus mundus, or one world, can help release us from those defenses…

Listen to my audio interview with Ann Ulanov

 

About Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.


Bonnie Bright, Ph.D. holds M.A. degrees in Psychology from Sonoma State University and Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she also completed her doctorate. She is a certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst™ and Transpersonal Soul-Centered Coach, using Somatic, Symbolic, and Shamanic perspectives to guide clients through spiritual awakening, integrate mystical experiences, and overcome creative blockages. She founded the Institute for Soul-Centered Psychology and Coaching™ in 2020. Bonnie is accredited through the International Association of Coaches, Therapists, & Mentors (IACTM) and has extensive training in dream work, Holotropic Breathwork, and the Enneagram. She also completed a 2-year training in Indigenous African Spiritual Technologies with elder Malidoma Somé, has lived with indigenous Shipibo people in Peru as part of a shamanic initiation to learn medicine and healing modalities , and has worked with shamans and healers in the Africa, and North and South America. In 2010, she founded Depth Psychology Alliance™, an online organization with over 5,500 members, and served as Executive Editor of Depth Insights™ journal for six years. Bonnie is the editor of "Earth, Climate, Dreams: Dialogues with Depth Psychologists in the Age of the Anthropocene" (2019) and "Depth Psychology and the Digital Age" (2016). Her journey into soul-centered work began with a mystical experience in 2006, which continues to inform her daily quest for awakening and helping others find their own path to soul.