The term: ‘archetype’ was coined by the Swiss psychoanalyst and psychiatrist: Carl Gustav Jung. Jung’s work has been influential not only in psychology, but also in anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and religious studies. The archetypes, Jung argued, influence the unfolding of human development, are the sources of our dreams, and are enacted in the myths and rituals of almost every culture that has ever existed in human history.

In this lecture, Dr Kevin Lu, will explore Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes – one of the distinctive features of his analytical psychology.  The talk will examine the various ways in which the archetypal concept may be understood, and will focus on the distinction made between archetypes and archetypal images.  Dr Lu will also discuss some of the more notable archetypes, including the shadow, the persona, the anima/animus and the Self.

What is at the heart of being human? Alfred Adler proposed that it is our basic social embeddedness and need for connection and belonging. Drawing on this view, it would follow that all human problems are social problems, the individual and society being inextricably linked – traumatic events unfortunately being part of this human experience.

Recent key developments in understanding the biopsychosocial factors underpinning traumatic experience and effective therapeutic interventions intriguingly echo Adler’s views of over 100 years ago. In this talk, Anthea Millar will outline Adler’s core ideas, and professional connection with Freud and Jung. Then drawing on her own practice using anonymised case studies, she will identify how Adler’s approach provides a valuable framework for integrating many of the developments in neuroscience and contemporary trauma informed therapy.

The theories of the unconscious that Freud formulated have sparked much controversy since he first outlined the extent of his discoveries in a seminal paper published over 100 years ago. Sceptics sneer at them, assuming they’re as discreditable as penis envy. Yet the latest research suggests that far from being past their sell-by date, our understanding of what we’re not conscious can be greatly aided by Freud’s insights, as well as the substantial developments that have emerged since then.

In this talk, Dr Mark Vernon, will examine whether the mechanisms Freud ascribed to the unconscious were right. Are dreams really the “royal road” to the unconscious? Do we have an unruly part of ourselves he called the id? Is the unconscious a domain that is timeless?  The talk will explore Freud’s theories in light of subsequent science, ask how they stand up given what we know now, and take the story into the 21st century as it is enlightened by ongoing ideas and psychotherapeutic practice.