Written by: Jessica Ingram

Get psyched—and live to tell about it.

VSU’s James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services will be hosting a weekend lecture and workshop series titled “Our Stories, Our Selves” on Feb. 21-22.

The series features Dr. Jonathan Young, a Jungian psychologist and founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives and Library.

Beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, in the University Center theater, Dr. Young will host a lecture titled “Claiming Our Stories.” He will discuss mythology and folklore, as well as the mythic imagination and how it connects to the lives of attendees. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The series will conclude with a workshop titled “Guides to Discovery: Uses of Stories and Archetypal Dimensions of Counseling and Psychotherapy.” This session will take place in the University Center Cypress Room from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 22. 

The cost of the all-day workshop is $50 for professionals and $20 for students. The fee includes breakfast and lunch.

“This clinical training seminar looks at tales collected by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault as illustrations of finding resilience and developing inner resources,” an event coordinator said. “(The) discussion will focus on how to analyze the structure of classical adventures for key metaphors and for parallels with dreams. We will discuss how a strong sense of life story can aid with adult developmental transitions.”

Sponsored by the Georgia chapter of the National Association of Social Work and the Georgia Psychological Association, the workshop is for mental health and social science professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, members of the community with a working knowledge of the Jungian tradition, and those with a general interest in folklore.

Young is a psychologist, storyteller and writer. He has taught Jungian psychology at several universities. For more information about Young, visit www.folkstory.com.

For event registration and more information on this event, visit www.valdosta.edu/psychology.