The image of the wounded healer, which emerged in the Asklepian tradition, has been part of healing traditions world-wide for 3500 years, and continues to impact our conception and expression of the healing tradition. Central sites in eastern Europe and the Middle East reveal some initial images and tales. From 1500 BCE to 6th century AD, the Asklepian Healing Sanctuaries included the integration of mind, body and spirit. Attendees participated in sports, dance, dramatic theater, poetry, music, rituals of purification and sacrifice. Fasting, reintroduction of wild foods, and the drinking of the pure spring waters further prepared one to enter the Abaton, the space where patients slept to induce healing dreams. Through the presentation and amplification of images of the wounded healer, we will ponder the psychological meaning in this archetypal pattern.
Willow Young, MA, MFT, is a Jungian analyst affiliated with the C.G. Jung Study Center of Southern California and is in private practice in Santa Barbara and Ventura. She is a member of the Core Faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute and serves as Chair of the MA Counseling Psychology Program. In 2008, she received the Pacifica Distinguished Service Award.
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