Creativity & the Inner Other

A workshop presented by Wilna van der Walt

Wilna van der Walt encountered the creative process as a living organic process and supportive tool in her own life since the 1990’s, and found confirmation of her own experience in the work of Jung, Winnicott and Kalsched. The culmination of 25 years of creative experimentation and relating to its content was published in book-form in 2016. Wilna is a counselling medical practitioner and a creative facilitator from Muizenberg.

Theoretical aspect of the workshop:

Creativity can be an indispensable tool in therapy, and in dealing with resistant pockets of trauma within the psyche. In this workshop the creative space is defined and compared to the therapeutic space as temenos. By relating to the content that gradually unfolds within the space, the space and the content may become an inner object or transitional object, as described by Winnicott. Kalsched pointed out that Winnicott’s transitional object and Jung’s concept of the transcendent function of the psyche and its symbolizing capacity overlap in a meaningful way. (Kalsched, 1996, p. 197 – 200) This helps us to understand the potentially beneficial effects of the creative process. Medicinal stories from around the world will be used to illustrate examples of the mechanisms of the creative process. In the work of David Blum, spanning 35 years of inner and creative work, we will trace the unfolding of the process. Blum was a famous conductor and writer from New York who drew the images from his dreams and visions. (For more information on his work, please visit https://aras.org/ )

Practical aspect of the workshop:

Participants will have the opportunity to engage with creative media in 4 one hour sessions, and to experience the effects and difficulties of this approach.

Jung, in the aims of psychotherapy: “A patient needs only to have seen once or twice how much he is freed from awretched state of mind by working at a symbolical picture, and he will always turn to this means of release whenever things go badly with him.” (Chodorow, 1997, p. 93)

Jung, in the Tavistock Lectures: “But [the therapist] should leave the originals with the patients, because they want to look at them and they become enchanted. The suggestive influence of the picture reacts on the psychological system of the patient and induces the same effect which he puts into the picture. That is the reason for the use of idols, for the magic use of sacred images, of icons. They cast their magic into our system and put us right, provided we put ourselves into them.” (Chodorow, 1997, p. 152)

DATE: 12 – 14 July 2019
VENUE: CG Jung Centre, 87 Main Rd, Rondebosch, Cape Town
COST: R2200.

Cost includes all art workshop material, Refreshments throughout the weekend, and Saturday lunch.

All welcome

ADVANCED BOOKINGS ONLY – PLACES LIMITED TO 8
Bookings with Proof of payment to saaja@mweb.co.za

BANKING DETAILS
STANDARD BANK Account name: SAAJA Account no: 072975059
Branch code: 025-009 Rondebosch Beneficiary Ref: SURNAME+Wilna

No refund policy if bookings cancelled within 7 days of Workshop.

WEEKEND PROGRAM:

Friday 12th July: 18.30 – 20.30: Jung’s views on fantasy and creative play.

Saturday 13th July: 09.00 – 12.30: The creative space as temenos, the unfolding of the content and meaning making.

Saturday 13th July 13.30 – 17.00: Jung’s transcendent function in creative work. Learning from the work of David Blum

Sunday 14th July 09.00 – 13.00: Objectivity and relating in symbolical creative work; conclusion and feedback.

PLEASE NOTE: PARKING
Parking is an issue at the Jung Centre and we ask in consideration for our neighbours, that visitors please park at the Baxter
Theatre or along Woolsack Drive.