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May 2024
Peggy Vermeesch
This article explores how a therapist can accompany the type of patient whose healing and transformation depend on being given a second chance to experience a healthy parental first love through the myth of Star Trek.
In addition to the need for good boundaries, it is crucial to genuinely enjoy and love our patients when the coniunctio is constellated.
I explore the myths that surround sexuality, and the danger of abuse and long-term harm in a disturbed maturation process. I highlight the inequality in societal empathy, care, and protection for men. Using Rutter’s (1989) theories I discuss both potential and danger of « forbidden zone relationships ».
November 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
This is a different story than the hero journey we are so used to. In line with Erich Neumann’s theories on the New Ethic, evil is not defeated or killed. Instead, it is accepted as part of oneself, negotiated with, and allowed to transform.
This is the second article in the series on Shadow and Evil in Star Trek. The journey of a single person can have a profound impact on the collective unconscious shadow. Jurati’s new and more moderate Borg in Star Trek : Picard is a symbol that gives hope in times of great division and splitting.
October 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
In light of Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s approach we explore the Jungian concepts of persona identification, inflation, shadow projection and the concept of scapegoating, as illustrated by the episode "Skin of Evil" in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This is the second article in the series on Shadow and Evil in Star Trek. The theory is based on Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s book Depth psychology and a New Ethic (1949).
September 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
In light of Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s approach we explore the collective unconscious in its devouring and destructive shadow aspect, as illustrated by the Borg in Star Trek.
The Borg are a cybernetic pseudo-species that actively strips each alien society they encounter from their individuality in order to make them part of the Borg Collective.
This article is based on Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s book Depth psychology and a New Ethic (1949).
February 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
Narcissistic abuse often stays unrecognized and hidden for both victim and environment. Narcissistic strategies like love bombing, isolating, and gaslighting operate in the background. What are the ways in which we can become conscious and heal from this kind of relational trauma?
In this last article I discuss intergenerational trauma and how narcissistic abuse often stays unrecognized and hidden : to the person at the receiving end of it as well as their community. Narcissistic love bombing, isolating, and gaslighting can be identified in the fairy tale of Mary’s Child. Finally, a comparison with Snow White and The Frog King provides some clues on how this kind of relational trauma and split can start to be healed.
February 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
The shadow that is innately ours has become intertwined with the shadow that we are forced to carry in projection. Under these circumstances the choice between hiding or admitting our larger-than-life shadow becomes a matter of life and death.
This article discusses some dynamics of codependent and narcissistic relationships through the lens of the fairy tales of Mary’s Child, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid. It also explores the problem of falling into the trap of carrying someone else’s shadow and the symbolic meaning of not having a voice.
February 2023
Peggy Vermeesch
Growing up with a narcissistic parent has long-term harmful effects. In this first article in a series of three I explore what fairy tales can teach us in terms of breaking this cycle of intergenerational trauma.
The fairy tales of Mary’s Child and Snow White provide clues and amplification.
Many fairy tales are about leaving our innocence behind and becoming conscious of our full potential. They are stories about individuation, integrating our shadow and growing up in the full sense of the word. What Mary's Child and Snow White have in common is that both protagonists must go through their individuation process after a childhood of neglect, abandonment and narcissistic abuse at the hands of a parental figure.
August 2021
Peggy Vermeesch
As a complement to C.G. Jung’s theory of the psychological functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition), Wolff developed an innovative theory of the feminine psyche. One path to individuation is integrating all four structural forms or types.
Doing this work brings wholeness and a full life, and it provides some protection against the shadow possibilities of each archetype. This is equally true for women and men, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
July 2021
Peggy Vermeesch
The archetypal forces that are active deep within our unconscious call for expression, somehow, whether we ask for it or not, and whether we want it or not. We don’t know in what form their call will come, nor to what purpose, but they will find a way into our conscious outer life. Our ego is instrumental in reducing the raw power of these archetypal forces.
