Transforming Depression Through Symbolic Death and New Life: Using the Creative Arts

with David Rosen, MD This episode is part one of the series Transforming Depression Through Symbolic Death and New Life: A Jungian Approach to Using the Creative Arts. While working extensively with patients suffering from depression, Jungian analyst and psychiatrist David Rosen uncovered helpful clues to understanding this widespread malady. When people feel grief and despair or suffer from suicidal thoughts, they may feel like they are dying inside. In order to regain the will to live, Rosen believes, only a part of them - a false self - needs to die. When the false self is permitted to die symbolically (egocide) through drawing, pottery, writing, or other forms of creative expression, a kind of mourning process is set in motion. When the cycle comes to an end, the person is transformed and experiences new life, a rebirth of purpose and meaning. This workshop focuses on understanding depression and the quest for meaning, discerning the creative potential of suicide, and recognizing and treating depression and suicidal people. Crisis points such as adolescence, mid-life, divorce, and loss of a loved one are discussed. Drawing from actual case material, Dr. Rosen presents the egocide and transformation model, explains how it is applied and how it works, and explores its creative potential. It was recorded in 1994. David Rosen, MD is a Jungian analyst and psychiatrist in College Station, Texas. He is a McMillan Professor of analytical psychology, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, and professor of humanities in medicine at Texas A&M University. He is the author of four books, including Transforming Depression: A Jungian Approach to Using the Creative Arts. For the complete series, click here. For books by Dr. Rosen, click here. © 1994 David Rosen. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it. Music by Michael Chapman Edited by Ben Law