FAQs ABOUT JUNGIAN STUDIES AND TRAINING

To become a Diplomate Analyst, candidates must complete extensive training at an institute approved by the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP). The Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (IRSJA) is unique among IAAP approved training institutes. The singular purpose of the IRSJA is to ensure that no matter where you live you can train to become a Jungian analyst and join a vibrant Jungian society. Our training candidates come from all parts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Grounded in personal analysis and clinical development, and augmented by a rich academic, clinical, and interpersonal atmosphere, the IRSJA program supports a full spectrum of students’ psychological and intellectual growth.

Our training is unique, and our schedule allows candidates to maintain full-time employment or private clinical practice. During the academic year training candidates participate regularly in a local seminar, usually in the city closest to home. Because these seminars take place one weekend a month in cities across the U.S., students can commute from just about anywhere in North America. You will find a list of links to all of our Regional Seminars by clicking on Training Seminars on the menu above.

Local seminars are taught by Jungian Analysts and scholars who represent a variety of perspectives, engage a broad range of topics, and relate these topics to Jungian theory. A seminar weekend might include an afternoon on Egyptian mythology, a day on Jung and alchemy, and the relevance of neurobiology to psychoanalysis. Required readings draw heavily from Jung’s Collected Works and other written materials. They will also include past and current elaborators of Jungian theory such as Erich Neumann, Marie Louise Von Franz, James Hillman, and Marion Woodman. Candidates are afforded an exciting range of content, faculty, and theoretical orientations.

The Society as a whole meets twice a year in cities across the country. Member analysts and candidates meet to fulfill major training requirements, learn from each other, and to enjoy community. These Society meetings give candidates the opportunity to meet as a group and to select their own guest faculty and case study facilitators from a wide range of analysts, including noted scholars and authors. Candidates also attend presentations and lectures open to the entire community. By combining the best of an intimate local learning experience with study and consultation in the wider analytic community, the IRSJA training program offers an academic, clinical, and interpersonal atmosphere that supports deep learning and professional growth.

Although each person’s path through the program is unique, training generally takes between five and eight years. Training expenses typically range from $15,000 – $20,000 per year. Expenses include the candidate’s fees for individual Jungian analysis and case consultation (both required throughout training), local seminar or colloquium fees, books, and travel expenses to two Inter-Regional meetings each year.

The process of training is divided into two major segments: pre-control and control. In the pre-control stage, the candidate focuses on the acquisition and integration of foundational knowledge of Jungian concepts. The candidate reads deeply, completes written assignments, makes case and other presentations in the local training seminar, and attends Inter-Regional meetings in October and April.

After a minimum of two years, the candidate, in consultation with their “Review Committee”, may decide to sit for the Propaedeuticum Exam. The Propaedeuticum takes place at the IRSJA spring meeting and consists of five required exams. The candidate completes the written exam prior to the spring meeting. During the four oral exams, a small group of analysts meets with the candidate. These exams focus on the candidate’s ability to integrate major areas of Jungian thought. Once a candidate has passed all five exams—which may take more than one effort—he or she has reached the control stage of training.

The control stage of training, which focuses on Jungian clinical practice, takes the candidate a minimum of two years to complete. The control candidate now attends weekly individual case consultations and participates in a control case colloquium. Colloquia usually meet four or five weekends a year at various locations. The candidate is not required to attend the local seminar during this stage, though this seminar is still considered their “local group”. A candidate may choose, for example, to attend some seminar courses and/or participate in the local case colloquium. During this stage, the candidate continues with their personal analysis. They are also required to attend IRSJA meetings.

The control stage requires each candidate to complete two major pieces of written work: three case analyses and a thesis. They may choose to undertake these projects sequentially or simultaneously. For each project, they work closely with a committee of three analysts. The candidate selects some members of the committees, including the chairs. The function of each committee is to guide and ultimately evaluate each project. Through the written case analyses, the candidate demonstrates the application of Jungian theory to clinical practice. The thesis is an original piece of scholarly work, in which the candidate examines a topic of particular and personal interest through a Jungian lens. The candidate’s successful completion of both exams is the culmination of the training experience, resulting in graduation and certification as a Diplomate Jungian Analyst.

IRSJA’s training program offers much more than certification. Candidates often forge life-long friendships as they study, support, sympathize, and socialize with each other. Most candidates find it to be a profound adventure in individuation that yields a lifelong community of friends and colleagues and a connection to a worldwide community of over 3,000 Diplomate Jungian Analysts.

The Inter-Regional Society’s training program is post-graduate in nature. Most successful applicants have at least a master’s degree in a mental health field. Many are already licensed mental health providers in the jurisdiction in which they practice. The IRSJA specifically requires the applicant to have completed 100 hours of personal analysis with a Diplomate Jungian Analyst who is a member of the International Association of Analytical Psychologists (IAAP). These 100 hours of analysis must be within the past three years (50 must be in person; 50 can be remote). An applicant’s readiness for training necessarily rests on a solid foundation of Jungian analysis. The applicant is also required to participate in a local training seminar for a minimum of six months prior to applying.

A person interested in training to be a Jungian analyst through IRSJA begins the process by participating in a regional seminar. The Society currently supports seven local training seminars: Heartland/St. Louis, Memphis-Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and Texas. These seminars, which meet over eight weekends during the academic year, allow prospective applicants to become familiar with area analysts responsible for local training and supervision.

A person applying for training engages in a two-stage process. First, the seminar participant submits application materials to the local training seminar coordinator in December or early January. Depending on local requirements, this application packet may include most of the materials required, down the road, for the IRSJA application, such as a CV, a brief reflective personal biography, and written confirmation of 100 hours of Jungian analysis within the three years prior to application. Once the local training coordinator reviews the materials for completion, they form a small Interview committee to meet with the applicant to explore readiness for training.

If an applicant is approved by the local interview committee for the next stage of the admissions process, the committee and/or training coordinator writes a letter of support to be submitted by the applicant, along with other required materials, to the IRSJA Director of Admissions. The next step, scheduled for the society’s spring meeting, is for analyst members of the Admissions Committee to meet with the applicant in individual and group interviews. At the end of the day, a small group from the Admissions Committee meets briefly with each applicant to provide feedback, including whether or not the applicant has been accepted into training.

The Training Prerequisites and Applicant Materials Checklist provides a list of all materials needed to be included in the application packet. Once an applicant completes the packet, they mail it in its entirety to the Director of Admissions (see below), postmarked no later than March 1 of the year of application.

Applicants are charged a fee of $500.00 to cover our admissions interviewing costs. After the director of admissions receives the mailed application packet and verifies that it is complete, she will inform the IRSJA treasurer of the applicant’s name and email. The treasurer will then send the applicant an invoice for this fee, which can be paid online by the applicant per the provided instructions. If the applicant redraws their application before completing the IRSJA interview day in April, the application fee will be refunded. It will not be refunded if the applicant withdraws after the April in-person interview process.

Peggy Hanson, Psy.D., L.P.
Diplomate Jungian Analyst
IRSJA Director of Admissions
1704 Sunset Drive
Northfield, MN 55057

This packet, as stated in the above link, should include the following:

• Completed IRSJA Training Application Cover Sheet
• Autobiographical statement (maximum of 3 double-spaced pages, 1 inch margins, 12 pt font) – last paragraph hand-written
• Signed Applicant/Candidate Waiver
• Signed Consent to Release Information
• CV of no more than three (3) pages
• Academic Transcripts (college, graduate school, other training)
• Letter of support from the local seminar
• Brief letter from analyst(s) verifying total hours of analysis during past three (3) years (stating whether in-person or remote sessions)

Your questions and inquiries are welcome at any time. Feel free to email the director at peglouhanson@gmail.com

Non-Discrimination Policy:
The Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts seeks to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Society does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin, disability, sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. We strive to identify systemic racism and other forms of discrimination in our Society, and we continue to challenge racial and cultural biases in ourselves, our teachings, and practices, and in our organization.

 

SUGGESTED READING IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY

 

PODCASTS and VIDEOS

This Jungian Life: This is a podcast in which three (3) IRSJA-trained Jungian analysts discuss a variety of topics from a depth psychology perspective, including a special podcast on considerations in becoming an analyst.

Jungianthology: This podcast contains content from the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts’ extensive audio files from past lectures and conferences.

Speaking of Jung: Videos in which Laura London interviews various Jungian Analysts. Also available on youtube.com.

A special podcast about becoming a Jungian analyst. https://traffic.libsyn.com/thisjungianlife/TJLbonus-Analyst.mp3