Byron Gaist
Facilitator
Byron Gaist studied Psychology and Counselling Psychology at undergraduate and postgraduate level in England in the 1990s and has also completed trainings in person-centred psychotherapy and guided imagery work. He has been a practicing counselling psychologist and psychotherapist for nearly three decades now. He has worked in the areas of gerontology, family violence, addictions and in general private practice with a diversity of clients. Currently he is the head of the Policy Department at the Cyprus National Addictions Authority, and continues to work with clients in private practice, both in person and online.
In his own words, Byron Gaist has always been drawn to Jungian ideas. In 2009 he completed his PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex, which focused on the relationship between Analytical Psychology, Orthodox Christianity, and the archetype of the Wounded Healer. His thesis was published as a book by the Orthodox Research Institute in 2010.
Byron has also been in Jungian analysis and continues his personal psychotherapeutic work until today. He believes the journey of becoming conscious through self-knowledge, personal growth and individuation never ceases, and for the mental health professional it is essential. In 2022, he decided to further his personal development along Jungian lines, by enrolling on the Magnum Opus online programme at The Centre for Applied Jungian Studies, a four-part journey through the alchemical stages of personal transformation in Jungian psychology which he completed within a year, while also studying and completing the Jungian and Post-Jungian Clinical Concepts course with the CAJS.
Byron has been facilitating the CAJS Jungian Book Club on Facebook, discussing key texts in Analytical Psychology since 2022, and in July 2023 joined the permanent facilitator team, beginning with the Mundus Imaginalis course on active imagination.
