Joseph Campbell and the Inner Journey
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
Clarissa Pinkola Estés said, “Joseph Campbell knew a heroic endeavor draws the hero and heroine into timeless time – where life is measured by the depth of longing to remember ones own wholeness. Even the badly injured can regain hope to restore their hearts. Learning about the mythic gives the young, the naive, and the uninitiated, the wounded, and the adventurous the much-needed language of travail and repair, of opening and descent and rising again. Campbell provided substance for the long journey ahead."
Campbell's work can greatly aid the helping professions, especially his guidance on hearing a calling, finding mentors, and gaining strength from the dark night of the soul. The course focuses on clinical applications that can enrich the inner life, particularly from Campbell's psychological insights into fairy tales and the goddess traditions.
We will study the place of psychotherapy in the initiatory journey and review uses of metaphor in treatment. We will also examine Joseph Campbells life and work as an example of the transformative quest.
The course is not just for psychotherapists. It is open to all those interested in mythic perspectives. The content requires no background in mythology, literary theory, or Jungian psychology.
Apply strategies for introducing story material in psychotherapy.
Select appropriate stories to mirror psychological experiences.
Identify how journey statges reveal personal developmental tasks.
Use dream analysis methods to draw insight from stories.
Detect psychological challenges in initiatory adventures.
Recognize how a crisis of courage can stimulate renewal.
This seminar is taught at the introductory level and requires no advance preparation. However, participants are provided with a recommended reading list as part of their class materials.
Jonathan Young, PhD is a psychologist (PSY10231) with an international online practice. He assisted mythologist Joseph Campbell at seminars and was founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives and Library. Dr. Young is an ongoing featured expert on several History Channel documentary series. His books and articles focus on personal mythology. He was a founding faculty member of the Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he still teaches.
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.
This seminar is taught at the introductory level and requires no advance preparation. However, participants are provided with a recommended reading list as part of their class materials.
The material is presented at an introductory level, requiring no background in mythic studies, narrative theory, or Jungian psychology.
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.
Select a seminar from the Current Course Seminar Dates and Formats
Register online or call the Center at 805-687-7171
Joseph Campbell with his wife, Jean Erdman
Zoom link goes active at 9:50 a.m. - Seminar 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Joseph Campbell with Jonathan Young, 1985
Campbell, Joseph (2018) The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph (2018) The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph (2017) Ecstasy of Being: Mythology and Dance. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph (2013) Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph (2002) The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Myth As Metaphor and As Religion. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph (2001) Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor. Novato, CA: New World Library
Campbell, Joseph and Toms, Michael (1990) An Open Life. New York: Harper Perennial
Estés, Clarissa Pinkola (2013) Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother's Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul. Louisville, CO: Sounds True Books
Estés, Clarissa Pinkola (1993) The Gift of Story: A Wise Tale About What is Enough. (audio), Boulder, CO: Sounds True
Feinstein, David and Krippner, Stanley (2009) Personal Mythology: Using Ritual, Dreams, and Imagination to Discover Your Inner Story. (Revised 3rd Edition) Santa Rosa, CA: Energy Psychology Press
Hillman, James (1998) Healing Fiction. Spring Publications
Hollis, James (2020) Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times. Louisville CO: Sounds True
Hollis, James (1996) Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places. Toronto: Inner City Books
Johnson, Robert A. (1986) Inner Work. New York: HarperCollins
Keen, Sam and Valley-Fox, Anne (1989) Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life Through Writing and Storytelling. New York: TarcherPerigee
Larsen, Stephen and Larsen, Robin (2002) A Fire in the Mind: The Life and Work of Joseph Campbell. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions
Pearson, Carol S. (2015) Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within. New York: HarperOne
Vogler, Christopher (2020) The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. (25th Anniversary Ed.) Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese
Young, Jonathan (2000) Saga - Best New Writings on Mythology Vol. 2. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press
Young, Jonathan (1996) Saga - Best New Writings on Mythology Vol. 1. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press