“The mother-child relationship is certainly the deepest and most poignant one we know.”
-Carl Jung



Analysts and psychotherapists may know less about the mother than they think they do! Archetypal theory and object relations contradict each other.

The swing from a focus on the father to one on the mother has not helped us get rid of parental essentialism, in which their roles are sharply – and suspiciously contrasted. Are mother and father such ‘complementary opposites’? And at all times and in all cultures?




"At the core of any mother complex is ... a collective image of nourishment and security on the one hand and the devouring possessiveness on the other."

- Daryl Sharp


For decades, feminists have pointed out that the therapies have indulged in an orgy of mother-blaming. And of unhelpful idealisation of the mother. In this presentation, Professor Samuels will try to get a balance of clinical utility and cultural exploration.



Date: Saturday 12th of September

Duration: 90 Minutes

Starts:
5pm London
12 Midday NYC

This presentation will be recorded for students who are unable to attend live.


Expect a thoughtful, atmospheric discussion of psychological insight, reflection, conversation, and meaningful exploration in an intimate setting.

No prior knowledge of Jungian psychology is required.

For more information email info@appliedjung.com.

Professor Andrew Samuels is a relational Jungian psychoanalyst, professor, activist and political consultant (including to Britain's National Health Service). He founded or co-founded many organisations within the 'psy' field, including Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility, Psychotherapy and Counselling Union, Analysis and Activism, International Association for Jungian Studies, and the Confederation for Analytical Psychology. Elected Chair of the UK Council for Psychotherapy 2009-2012 and has worked as Consultant for Routledge's Analytical Psychology List since 1984.  
His many books have been translated into up to 21 languages. These include Jung and the Post-Jungians (1985), The Plural Psyche (1989), The Political Psyche 1993), Politics on the Couch (2001), Persons, Passions, Psychotherapy, Politics (2015), and A New Therapy for Politics? (2018). His most recent book (2025), published by Routledge, is titled Reflecting Critically on the Political Psyche: Therapy, Testament and Trouble in Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis. Also in 2025, a new edition of The Father: Contemporary Jungian Perspectives was published. A selection of video lectures and 'rants' is available on www.andrewsamuels.com
Wasserschlangen af Klint

Thank you for joining us for this presentation. Please find the recorded session below

Recorded Lecture