This program will be recorded and made available publicly on our YouTube channel. You do not need to have registered to view the video.
This program centers on a key passage from The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (CW 8, para. 739), which posits Analytical Psychology as a response to the excessive rationalization of modern consciousness and its resulting estrangement from the deeper psychic foundations of nature, myth, ancestry, and the collective unconscious.
Integrating theoretical reflection with personal experience, this presentation examines the role of dreams, particularly the first analytic dream, as expressions of the psyche’s movement toward individuation. Central to this inquiry is the concept of the autochthonous self, understood as the dimension of psyche rooted in ancestry, landscape, and mythic imagination. Drawing on long-term experience working with First Nations Australians, we will consider psychogeographical resonances between Jungian concepts of the collective unconscious and individuation, and First Nations understandings of the Dreaming and Songlines. We will explore archetypal narrative expressions of the symbolic union of the rational and archaic that lies at the heart of individuation, through texts such as Moby Dick and the film Storm Boy and other timeless tales.
Finally, the analytic relationship will be considered as a “thin place” in which conscious and unconscious realms may encounter one another through symbolically driven transformations. Reconnection with such archetypal and chthonic dimensions of psyche can help restore meaning and vitality to modern consciousness, thus supporting the always ongoing process of individuation.
Ian Chater completed a postgraduate degree in psychotherapy in 2021 and is currently a diplomate candidate at the Research and Training Centre for Depth Psychology in Zurich according to C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, where he is working on his final thesis which is the focus of this presentation. He is a registered psychotherapist in Australia with a private practice.
He grew up in the isolated city of Perth, Western Australia. A lifelong surfer, he has travelled widely in search of waves, a pursuit that continues to bring him deep enjoyment. Literature has also been a constant passion, and he maintains a deep personal interest in the life and work of Irish poet and writer, W.B. Yeats.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts in literature, Ian spent much of his twenties travelling and working overseas in varied roles, including assisting the forest service in British Columbia, working on film sets in India and France, and playing music on the west coast of Ireland.
Returning to Australia, he completed a postgraduate degree in Education and taught English and Literature. During this time, he worked closely with First Nation students in disadvantaged areas of Perth. This experience eventually led to ongoing work as an Indigenous Liaison in remote parts of Australia. His nearly two decades of work with the First Nations of the Kimberley region has been a profound influence on both his life and understanding of Analytical Psychology.
Learning objectives:
- Explain the concept of the autochthonous self within Jungian psychology.
- Discuss the role of dreams in the individuation process and in the analytic relationship.
