Law and Ethics 15: Diversity and Creativity
Story and Symbol Therapy Courses Register Community Dates Contact
Story and Symbol Therapy Courses Register Community Dates Contact
Seminar Dates and Formats Articles Joseph Campbell Site Map Search
This course invites mental health professionals into an interdisciplinary exploration of legal, ethical, and diversity-related challenges in clinical practice. The life and work of acclaimed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is a vivid case study of art as therapy. Through a Jungian lens, participants examine how Kahlo’s personal struggles with identity, trauma, disability, and cultural duality mirror the dilemmas and cultural complexities faced in therapeutic settings today.
The course includes analysis of Kahlo’s paintings through archetypal theory to illustrate cultural humility and intersectionality. Discussion deepens our understanding of how artistic expression can help in treatment, including the challenge of tolerating chronic pain.
Frida Kahlo's activism centered resisting ethnic and gendered discrimination. Her art often depicted social inequalities expressing solidarity with marginalized groups. Kahlo incorporated indigenous symbols and themes in her art, reflecting her pride in her own mixed heritage and her belief in its cultural significance.
Kahlo's life and art questioned gender roles and societal expectations, making her an icon for social movements, including feminism, LGBTQ+ recognition, and disability rights. She believed that personal experiences are intertwined with broader social issues, a concept reflected in her creativity and causes.
Discussion includes ethical issues stemming from the intersection of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, alternative lifestyles and physical ability. Participants will engage in discussions of Kahlo’s personal struggles as case material. Her story provides examples that illustrate the tasks of ethical decision-making in diverse clinical contexts.
This course meets CE requirements for professional law and ethics ~ also, diversity training for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and marriage and family therapists.
By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:
Describe how cultural identity and physical disability inform a deeper understanding of intersectionality in clinical practice.
Differentiate appropriate interventions based on the ethnicity, gender identity and physical abilities.
Discuss the ethical implications of self-disclosure and authenticity in therapy, using Kahlo’s autobiographical art as a metaphor.
Critique the impact of the therapist’s personal narrative and unconscious projections in ethical decision-making.
Identify barriers and bias in treating individuals from different cultures.
Assess the symbolic and archetypal dimensions of suffering and healing in diverse client populations.
Online live webinar with storytelling, analysis of symbolism in stories and discussion of clinical applications
CE Credits: 6 hours (meets law, ethics, and diversity requirements)
Audience: Psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCs, RNs and pre-licensed professionals. Also of interest to others in helping professions like teachers, clergy and human resource managers.
The material is presented at an introductory level for psychologists, requiring no background in mythic studies, narrative theory, or Jungian psychology. No advance preparation is necessary. However, participants are provided with a recommended reading list as part of their class materials.
The following CE credits are available:
Psychology, LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, Ed Psych, NBCC : 6 CE hours
Nursing : 7 hours
Most teachers must get credits approved by their school administration. Center courses meet the requirements in most states. Contact us if you need more information about receiving credit in your state.
Jonathan Young, PhD is a psychologist (PSY10231) and minister of the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta, a suburb of Santa Barbara, California. Dr. Young assisted mythologist Joseph Campbell at seminars and was founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives and Library, (now the Opus Archives & Research Center). He also launched the Mythological Studies doctoral program at the Pacifica Graduate Institute. Dr. Young is featured in several documentary series on the History Channel.
Anne Bach, M.S., LMFT 38891 is a specialist in uses of writing in psychotherapy. She gives presentations on creativity as inner work at major conferences, and lectures widely on psychological dimensions of expressive writing. She also appears in memoir drama performances for various theater groups, including the Marsh Stage in Berkeley. Her clinical background includes poetry therapy with seriously mentally ill patients.
Select a seminar location from the Current Seminar Dates and Formats
Register online or call the Center
Zoom link goes live at 9:30 a.m., California time - Seminar 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Cultural humility and intersectionality in clinical practice
- Please return on time
- Social justice, polyamory, death and dying
- Complete evaluation email ~ serves as sign-out signature
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Brewster, Fanny (2017) African Americans and Jungian Psychology: Leaving the Shadows. London: Routledge
Brown, Jason (2017) Counseling Diversity in Context. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press
Campbell, Joseph (2013) Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine. Novato, CA: New World Library
Christina Richards and James Barrett (2020) Trans and Non-Binary Gender Healthcare for Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Other Health Professionals. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press
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Kimber Shelton, Michelle King Lyn, and Mahlet Endale Eds. (2022) A Handbook on Counseling African American Women: Psychological Symptoms, Treatments, and Case Studies. Praeger: Westport, CT
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Snyder, Aaren (2020) Black Mental Health Matters: The Ultimate Guide for Mental Health Awareness in the Black Community. Ingram Content: La Vergne, TN.
Becker Christina (2004) The Heart of the Matter: Individuation as an Ethical Process. Wilmette, IL: Chiron Publications
Beebe, John (2005) Integrity in Depth. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press
Corey, Gerald, Marianne Corey, & Cindy Corey (2024). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (11th Ed.) Boston: Cengage MindTap
Guggenbuhl-Craig, Adolf (2021) Power in the Helping Professions. Putnam, CT: Spring Publications
Neumann, Erich. (1990) Depth Psychology and a New Ethic. New York: Harper
Goldberg, Natalie (2016) Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, Boston: Shambhala
Keen, Sam and Valley-Fox, Anne (1973) Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life through Writing and Storytelling. New York: Tarcher/Putnam
Lamott, Anne (1994) Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Doubleday
Leonard, Linda S. (2009) The Call to Create: Celebrating Acts of Imagination. New York: Harmony Books
Metzger, Deena (1992) Writing for Your Life: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds. New York: Harper San Francisco
Young, Jonathan (1996) Saga - Best New Writings on Mythology Vol. 1. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press
Young, Jonathan (2000) Saga - Best New Writings on Mythology Vol. 2. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press
