Racism & the Cultural Complex: Welcome to the United States of America
A recent article in The Huffington Post reads: “A white man guns down nine black people in a church in South Carolina. The state’s Confederate battle flag stays waving in the wind the next day. The white man is arrested. He is given a Kevlar jacket. Welcome to the United States of American in 2015.”
It is impossible to imagine how 350 years of slavery, segregation and racism would not have monumental consequences for both White and Black Americans. And yet, many want to believe that electing an African American President has changed all that. Events during the last year have turned that fantastical belief on its head and now more than ever we must work to understand the insidious nature of racism. Depth psychology has an important role to play in this endeavor, especially as we begin to understand how shared historical and cultural trauma experiences lead to cultural complexes in groups and within the psyche of individuals. This course will explore the presence and power of historical and cultural traumas—how the legacy of these traumas impact the brains, bodies and minds of individuals, and how the shared experience of trauma creates cultural complexes that structure emotional experience.
PowerPoint: The slides for this talk are included as a PDF in the download.
Learning Objectives
By participating in this workshop, attendees will be able to:
1) Describe the relationship between historical and cultural traumas and cultural complexes;
2) Explain Post-Traumatic Slavery Syndrome;
3) Define micro-aggression and describe its component parts.
Recommended Reading & Viewing
• O’Connor, F. (1971). “Everything that rises must converge.” In The Complete Stories, pp. 405-420.
• Borglum, L., Jensen, P.A. (Producers), & von Trier, L. (Director). (2005). Manderlay.
• Coates, T. (2015). Between the World and Me.
• DeGruy Leary, J. (2005) Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome: America’s legacy of enduring injury and healing.
• Obama, B. (2004). Dreams from My Father: A story of race and inheritance.
• Singer, T. and Kimbles, S. (2004). The Cultural Complex: Contemporary Jungian perspectives on psyche and society.
I am in private practice in the Chicago Loop where I provide psychotherapy, psychoanalysis/Jungian analysis, couples therapy, and group therapy. My clinical approach is comprehensive and collaborative so that treatment reflects the uniqueness of each person and fits his or her personal goals and life plan. I believe the therapeutic relationship is the essential element in all forms of treatment and that only through a secure connection can one develop into the person they are meant to become. As a trained psychoanalyst, I help individuals uncover dysfunctional patterns that may have been adaptive in childhood but hinder adult development. As a trained Jungian analyst, I work to provide a safe and sacred space in which prospective life patterns may emerge via dreams and other vehicles of the unconscious.
Areas of expertise include the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and trauma; the launching of adolescents and young adults; relationship difficulties, including LGBTQ; women’s issues, including post-partum depression; body image concerns, professional career challenges, stress management and mindfulness, life transitions and personal growth. In addition to work with individuals, I run a long-term psychotherapy group.
I am a graduate of both the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. I have a particular interest in the relevancy of Analytical Psychology and psychoanalysis to current and historical social issues such as gender, race, politics and animal welfare. In addition to my work as a clinician, I am committed to animal rescue from kill shelters and public education about the psychological value of companion animals.
Education
Psychoanalysis, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis (2018)
Analytical Psychology, C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago (2003)
Master of Science in Social Work, University of Texas at Austin (1992)
Intensive Summer Program, C.G. Jung-Institute, Zurich, Switzerland (1990)
Divorce and Family Mediation Training Program, Dallas, Texas (1990)
Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Texas at Austin (1984)
Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, University of Texas at Austin (1980)
Professional Organizations
Chicago Psychoanalytic Society
C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago
Chicago Society of Jungian Analysis (CSJA)
International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP)
Archive for Researching Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)
National Association for Social Workers (NASW)
State Bar of TexasAge Groups
Adults
Adolescents
Treatment Types
Individuals
Couples
Families
Groups
Specialty Areas
Psychoanalysis
Contactsfariss@mac.com
312.422.1281
Main Office
Mandley, Anita
Anita Mandley, MS, LCPC is a psychotherapist in Skokie at The Center for
Contextual Change. The Center is a group practice specializing in the
treatment of trauma, violence, abuse and neglect, working with both
survivors and offenders. Ms. Mandley specializes in Complex PTSD and
Dissociative Disorders.