Lecture by Lawrence H. Staples in Washington, DC

The Jung Society of Washington will be hosting a lecture by Lawrence H. Staples


Friday, December 4, 2009


Event Title: THE CREATIVE SOUL: Art and the Quest for Wholeness

Where: Memorial Hall, 5200 Cathedral Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Friday, December 4, 2009

Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM EST

Import this event into your Outlook calendar

What: Lecture
Who: Larry Staples, Ph.D.
When: Friday
Fees: $15:00, members in advance; $20.00, general; $10.00 sen/stu
Register for this event at www.jung.org


This lecture is about art in all its myriad forms-painting writing, sculpting, composing, etc., and how it serves our quest for wholeness and helps restore parts of us that were lost in the process of socialization.


In his book, The Restoration of the Self, Heinz Kohut wrote at length about psychically wounded people and the therapeutic methods he used to help them. He found none more effective, or so essential, as creative work. He found, importantly, that it made no difference whether the creative work was deemed good or artistic by any standards; the simple process of doing creative work helped restore the self. It is as if nature plants within us a built-in remedy for our worst affliction, the affliction of being separated from large parts of ourselves. We experience this separation as a kind of inner civil war that divides us internally. It produces the pain and suffering inherent in any civil war, whether in our internal world or outside. It seems that the human urge to do creative work is a compensa-tory impulse and blessing, which arises from the psychic civil war that wounded us. In my own work as a psychoanalyst, I have witnessed the truth of Kohut's findings. I have watched patients grow in wholeness as they began to work creatively in a variety of media that helped them recover and restore lost aspects of themselves.


The lecture will draw upon paintings by Frida Kahlo to demonstrate the contribution of art to the restoration of self and the attainment of wholeness. This lecture is also for people specifically interested in creative processes---writers, artists, composers, teachers, thinkers. Staples will share his insights based upon years of observing his clients, their art, and the creative processes that produced it. He discusses psychological factors that both block and trigger creative production. He also suggests techniques for unleashing creative work as well as unblocking it.


CEUs will be offered for this program.


Larry Staples, Ph.D., is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Washington D.C. He is a diplomate of the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich and holds a Ph.D. in psychology. He is a member of the International Association for Analytical psychology (I.A.A.P.), Association of Graduate Analytical Psychologists (A.G.A.P.), Jungian Analysts of Washington Association (J.A.W.A.) and National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and the American Boards for Accreditation and Certification (N.A.A.P.). Larry is the author of two books, Guilt with a Twist: The Promethean Way and The Creative Soul: Art and the Quest for Wholeness. A third book about guilt's role in depression, anxiety, and paranoia is due to be published in late fall. He has also written a number of articles about the psychological problems of midlife. Special areas of interest include creativity, guilt, and midlife. He holds AB and MBA degrees from Harvard.