Transforming Complexes as Pathways to Vocation

A unique 6 week intensive online course

COURSE INSTRUCTOR:  

Suzanne Cremen  PhD, MA Depth Psychology (Jungian & Archetypal Studies), MA Engaged Humanities & Mythological Studies (Pacifica, USA), LLB, BA
 

Could your sensitivities, wounds and preoccupations – your complexes – hold the missing key to the treasure of your vocation?

A complex is an impulse, pattern of behaviour, recurring mode of imagination, obsessive thought or particular fantasy which keeps you in its grip. CG Jung’s research into the nature of complexes and the power they exert led him to assert that 'complexes are in truth the living units of the unconscious psyche' (CW 9: 210). 

Complexes may stem from personal wounds (often originating in childhood); the collective wounds of a person’s culture; or the traumas and patterns of previous generations.  We all have complexes, but when a complex remains autonomous and untransformed, it can easily chain a person to unfulfilling work or inhibit the pursuit of an authentic calling.  A more conscious understanding of one’s complexes can be revelatory for the discovery, choice and conduct of vocation.

In this course we’ll look at how many people’s vocational choices are, consciously or unconsciously, an attempt to heal a wound experienced in childhood.  We’ll see how common experiences of 'being stuck' are beneath the surface wired to a complex, the roots of which may lie in the experiences of previous generations.   We’ll discuss complexes common to the Australian cultural psyche – how these affect us, and what they might ask of us.

A depth approach suggests that the complex is not just an historical wound but a vessel of transformation, by which the psyche leads an individual towards new horizons and an unfolding vocation infused with power and energy.

money

This course will also focus on money as a motivator and a complex, commonly activated in connection with work. Money is one of the most neglected issues psychologically. At the core of our various money complexes – to hoard, to posture, to gift, to consume – bubble the energies of various archetypes. 

While mainstream approaches to career development and vocational guidance treat issues of money in a literal fashion, we will consider how money’s character, as a conduit of the imagination, has a great deal to do with the condition of the soul.

Each week includes a lecture/ presentation, readings from selected authors, activities and online discussion with personal feedback from the instructor.   A reading list of books will be provided on registration.

Convenient online course format

The online format is so convenient as you can work each week at a time and place to suit you. Students are frequently surprised by how conducive the online space can be for personal reflection, connection with others and soulwork.  Each online course has a limited of participants to ensure personal attention from the instructor, Suzanne Cremen. 

Will this course benefit me?

• If you’ve achieved a degree of proficiency or success in your work but now feel 'stuck' in some way

• If you're curious about how the deeper roots of your calling may be linked to your early life experiences, or family, ancestral, or cultural trauma

• If you'd like to deepen your understanding of archetypes and learn how they activate complexes.

then this course on Transforming Complexes as Pathways to Vocation will benefit you. 

The required reading and level at which our courses are taught is designed for adults with a tertiary education (any discipline). It's highly recommended that you have completed the Career as a Journey of Soul course first, for an introduction to both Jungian psychology  and career development.  To ensure the program is suitable for your needs, new course participants are requested to complete an online application form.  

Continuing Professional Development
Members of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) receive 10 OPD (ongoing professional development) hours on completion of this six-week course in September 2019.

COURSE INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Suzanne Cremen  PhD, MA Depth Psychology (Jungian & Archetypal Studies), MA Engaged Humanities & Mythological Studies, LLB, BA.

Please contact Suzanne if you have any questions.

What PARTICIPANTS have said about our past courses:

“Thank you so much for this course. I have loved every minute of it, and feel grateful for the guidance of such wise and compassionate instructors – Suzanne and also Ashok Bedi at the seminar.

The course has been particularly beneficial in helping me to embrace and accept my whole self, not just my conscious self. Starting to live this way is incredibly liberating. Also, acknowledging the impact of ancestors on my life, and engaging the Jungian framework. I’ve found the key to understanding myself!

Using the framework, so many things in my life and past make so much more sense now. My favourite part of the course was reading Suzanne’s responses to our posts which always deepened and broadened my understanding in every direction." – Kylee R, Public Policy Manager

“I LOVED this course. Over the past 20 years I have had many questions in relation to my vocation and various careers and for me this questioning has created its fair share of worry and concern. After completing this course I felt more at peace with my vocational exploration and discovered ways to approach my exploration in a more imaginative way, thank you so much Suzanne!" – Rochelle, Artist and Academic Researcher

“Career as a Journey of Soul provides a unique, inspiring and personalised approach to vocational calling. The lectures are beautifully presented and jam-packed with rich, thought-provoking material. Suzanne provides intuitive and beautiful commentary that invites new perspectives and shifts in self-understanding. I also really benefited from hearing other people’s journeys and could hear so many aspects of my own story reflected back. The course material and Suzanne’s commentary has really opened up new avenues of vocational exploration for me and I’m so pleased! A superb and highly recommended course.” – Alex, Psychologist

"Initially, I wondered if I would really get anything out of this course – if I may be repeating a career / vocation exploration pathway similar to things I had done in the past. But this course provided me with new information and knowledge around the concept of vocation, and the phases and pathways in life. I found great value in the reading material provided and viewing vocation from a completely different perspective. I gained much greater insight into myself and my intrinsic behaviour through the depth psychological process. I feel much more at peace, and have much more clarity about how my career can form an extension of my soul's vocation." – Josie, Learning and Development Consultant

"I have loved this course! The lectures, readings and discussions have carried me across an ocean of new understanding, and despite having not one but two dreams of being on a boat that is capsizing, I've managed to keep my head above water. Thank-you Suzanne, for bringing this course material to us all in such a dynamic and stimulating format, and for all of your thoughtful comments along the way. Thank-you, too, to the other members of the course who have witnessed the movements of my soul." – Sarah, Psychiatrist

"I have found all the Life Artistry courses and seminars immensely enriching and life-changing. Suzanne has a wonderful way of bringing to life the hidden meanings and impulses in her commentary to our posts. The work goes on long after each module or course has finished." – Diane, Artist and Therapist

Read more testimonials here

register

2023 dates for this course have not yet been scheduled. Please contact us to express your interest and put your name on the waiting list for a future course.

To ensure personal attention, each class size is limited to 8-10. Upon registration, participants will receive a course syllabus, reading list and log in details.

A limited number of partial scholarships may be available for people in Australia and New Zealand who would benefit from this work and are unable to participate for financial reasons. Staged payment options may also be available. If this applies to you, please indicate your situation on the application form. 

To register, please complete the online application form and make payment below. 

Online Course (Direct Deposit):

Full Rate AU$795
Jung Society & Concession Rate AU$755  
Early Bird special only $715 if paid before 20 May 2019 (save up to $80!)

Pay by Direct Deposit (preferred method — no credit card surcharge):
BSB: 313 140 (Bank Australia, Kew, Victoria) 
Account number: 14073170
Account name: eContent t/a Life Artistry

or Credit Card/ PayPal (with surcharge added to cover merchant credit card fees):

Cancellation policy

• $100 fee applies per cancellation

• Prorata refund (less $100 fee) before week 3 of the course

• No refund applicable from week 3.