Expressing Difficult Life Experiences on the Page: A Writing Workshop

Expressing Difficult Life Experiences on the Page: A Writing Workshop

In-Person Only
Patricia Martin, MFA, host of Jung in the World
April 18, 2025 | 1-4pm
C G Jung Institute of Chicago, 53 W Jackson Blvd Ste 438 (MAP)
3 CEs Available

This program will not be recorded. Bring a notebook and your favorite writing pen.

Price range: $40.00 through $75.00

It can be difficult to translate tumultuous life experiences in our writing. We need to find language and methods to support the process. During this workshop, we’ll use writing to reconnect with more turbulent passages in our lives, drawing inspiration from Carl Jung’s theory of individuation, as we explore the relationship between psyche, active imagination, and narrative.  Participants will emerge with a repeatable approach for structuring their life stories, methods for translating difficult emotional material, and fresh drafts that can be a foundation for further writing.

This generative workshop is ideal for those considering a memoir, those seeking personal growth from writing, or therapists wishing to enrich their insight into patient narratives. We will read, write, and share work in a safe, compassionate setting. Bring a notebook. CEs are available.

What you’ll learn

  • The psychology of personal narrative as a tool for self-discovery and healing.
  • A repeatable system for structuring personal narratives.
  • A method for editing that anchors the emotional power of your work.
  • Carl Jung’s theory of individuation and how it relates to emotive writing.

Readings will be drawn from

  • The Exorcism of the Fire, Vision Seminars Part 1, Carl Jung
  • Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
  • Noonday Demon, Andrew Solomon
  • In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
  • Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
  • A Recipe for Forgiveness by Helen Longstreth
  • The Art of Dying, Peter Schejdahl
  • You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Maggie Smith

Instructor

Patricia Martin holds an MFA in nonfiction from Bennington College, and post-graduate certification in medical narrative from Duke University’s Integrative Medicine Program. She is a professional affiliate at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago, where she studied depth psychology and Jungian theory, and hosts the popular podcast Jung in the World. She is the author of four books, including Will the Future Like You? Reflections on the Age of Hyper-Reinvention, (forthcoming November, 2025) Karnac Press. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review, USA Today, and more recently Psyche Magazine.

Visit patricia-martin.com for more information.

 

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Recording Terms & Conditions

This program will be recorded and distributed by the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago for educational and historical purposes. By registering for this program, you consent to appear as an audience member on a recording that will be distributed by the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Without expectation of compensation or other remuneration, now or in the future, you give your consent to the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago, its affiliates, and agents to use your image and likeness and/or any interview statements from you in its publications, advertising, or other media activities (including the Internet).