Brenda Crowther: An Alchemical Tale

Nov. 10, 2012

Psychotherapy Sussex Wider Community Event : 10 November 2012

University of Sussex (room to be announced)

An Alchemical Tale: Confronting the Darkness to find the New Light.

The talk shows the healing of a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome through a series of archetypal dreams.  These initiate a psychological, alchemical process in the psyche leading to transformation.  The dreamer experiences the shadow, both personal and collective, within the alchemical nigredo; this is followed by the albedo, the clensing process, and finally, the new dawn or rubedo as the healing energy gradually overcomes the fatigue.  This transformation process is echoed in the tale of Sleeping Beauty, and forms the structure of the case.  The complex, interesting and intriguing discovery of what caused the energy to drain from the woman's life in the first place is revealed.  The case shows the classical Jungian analytical approach to working with a psycho-physical condition.

Brenda Crowther is a Jungian Analytical Psychologist with a practice in Bexhill-on-Sea, where she runs a dream group.  A member of the Guild of Analytical Psychology and Spirituality in London, she is also an advanced candidate at the Jung and von Franz Centre for Depth Psychology in Switzerland.  She lectures in London and Switzerland, and at present gives seminars for the Jung Club in London on Jung's The Red Book.  Her article on 'The Inner Landscape' is published in the Club's journal Harvest.