Pacifica Graduate Institute
Encyclopedia
Pacifica Graduate Institute is an accredited, for-profit American graduate school
with two campuses near Santa Barbara, California
. The institute offers master's and doctoral degrees in the fields of psychology, mythological studies, and the humanities.
The concepts of depth psychology resulting from this long development are at the core of Pacifica's orientation. These ideas—such as the importance of symbol and metaphor in personal and cultural imagery or the recognition of the dynamic interplay between the natural world and the world of the human psyche—are articulated in the institute's programshttp://pacifica.edu/missionstatement.aspx.
The M.A. in Counseling Psychology was initiated in 1982 under the direction of Gary Linker and Marti Glennhttp://www.pacifica.edu/history.
The depth psychology graduate program was launched in 1984 by Stan Passy, who drew on his doctoral work in archetypal psychology with James Hillman
at the University of Dallas. Faculty and visiting lecturers have included Marion Woodman
, Thomas Moore
, Robert A. Johnson, and Marija Gimbutas
http://pacifica.edu/history.aspx.
The name of the school was changed to the Pacifica Graduate Institute in 1989 under the leadership of president Stephen Aizenstathttp://pacifica.edu/history.aspx.
The mythological studies program was created in 1994 by Jonathan Young
, building on his work as founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archiveshttp://folkstory.com/stephen_aizenstat_pacifica.html. The program combines folklore, literature, creative studies, and archetypal psychologyhttp://pacifica.edu/mythology.aspx.
The humanities masters program is the only Pacifica degree with substantial online coursework. The online studies are combined with twice yearly weeks on campus. All other degrees are completed in monthly three-day retreats and one summer week annuallyhttp://pacifica.edu/.
, Jean Houston
, Thomas Moore
, Marion Woodman
, James Hillman
, and Robert Bly
http://pacifica.edu/public_programs.aspx.
's papers and collections have been entrusted to the OPUS Archives and Research Center on the campuses of Pacifica Graduate Institute. The renowned author, scholar, and mythologist was a long-time friend of Pacifica and a frequent guest lecturer. After Campbell's death, Jean Erdman
and the Joseph Campbell Foundation
donated his papers, books and other effects to the Center for the Study of Depth Psychology at Pacifica. The center became OPUS Archives and Research Center and is the home of the collectionhttp://www.opusarchives.org/. The founding curator, Jonathan Young
, worked closely with Ms. Erdman to gather the materials from Campbell's homes in Honolulu and Greenwich Village
, New York City
http://folkstory.com/stephen_aizenstat_pacifica.html. The Campbell Collection features approximately 3,000 volumes and covers a broad range of subjects, including anthropology, folklore
, religion
, literature, and psychology. The collection also includes audio and video tapes of lectures, original manuscripts, and research papers. The current curator and librarian is Richard Buchen. The OPUS Archives also contain the collections of many other key figures in the development of depth psychology
http://www.opusarchives.org/.
's papers and book drafts are held at the Opus Archives and Research Center.
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
with two campuses near Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. The institute offers master's and doctoral degrees in the fields of psychology, mythological studies, and the humanities.
Orientation
Pacifica traces many of its central ideas to the heritage of ancient story tellers, dramatists, and philosophers from all lands who recorded the workings of the imagination. The legacies of these early men and women have evolved in multiple cultural contexts and perspectives including the systematic explorations of the unconscious by Freud, Jung, and other scholars of the inner life.The concepts of depth psychology resulting from this long development are at the core of Pacifica's orientation. These ideas—such as the importance of symbol and metaphor in personal and cultural imagery or the recognition of the dynamic interplay between the natural world and the world of the human psyche—are articulated in the institute's programshttp://pacifica.edu/missionstatement.aspx.
Degree offerings
Six degree programs are offered through monthly, three-day learning sessions:- M.A. in Counseling Psychology
- Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
- M.A./ Ph.D. in Depth Psychology
- M.A./ Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology
- Ph.D. in Depth Psychology with an emphasis in Psychotherapy
- M.A. in Humanities (online/hybrid format)http://www.pacifica.edu/.
History
Pacifica Graduate Institute dates its life as an educational institution from the 1976 inauguration of a nine-month, para-professional Counseling Skills Certificate program offered by the Human Relations Centerhttp://www.pacifica.edu/history.The M.A. in Counseling Psychology was initiated in 1982 under the direction of Gary Linker and Marti Glennhttp://www.pacifica.edu/history.
The depth psychology graduate program was launched in 1984 by Stan Passy, who drew on his doctoral work in archetypal psychology with James Hillman
James Hillman
James Hillman was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, founded a movement toward archetypal psychology and retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27,...
at the University of Dallas. Faculty and visiting lecturers have included Marion Woodman
Marion Woodman
Marion Woodman is a Canadian mythopoetic author and women's movement figure. She is a Jungian analyst trained at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland. She is one of the most widely read authors on feminine psychology, focusing on psyche and soma. She is also an international lecturer...
, Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, Robert A. Johnson, and Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old Europe", a term she introduced. Her works published between 1946 and 1971 introduced new views by combining traditional spadework with linguistics and mythological...
http://pacifica.edu/history.aspx.
The name of the school was changed to the Pacifica Graduate Institute in 1989 under the leadership of president Stephen Aizenstathttp://pacifica.edu/history.aspx.
The mythological studies program was created in 1994 by Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young is a psychologist who became the founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives.-Background:Young developed an interest in the teaching functions of stories through early exposure to folklore. He was one of six children in a much-traveled family...
, building on his work as founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archiveshttp://folkstory.com/stephen_aizenstat_pacifica.html. The program combines folklore, literature, creative studies, and archetypal psychologyhttp://pacifica.edu/mythology.aspx.
The humanities masters program is the only Pacifica degree with substantial online coursework. The online studies are combined with twice yearly weeks on campus. All other degrees are completed in monthly three-day retreats and one summer week annuallyhttp://pacifica.edu/.
Public programs
Pacifica presents frequent public programs in Santa Barbara and Europe. Past presenters include Joseph CampbellJoseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
, Jean Houston
Jean Houston
Jean Houston is an American scholar, lecturer, author and philosopher who has helped pioneer and motivate the human potentials movement. As a teacher and visionary thinker, Houston holds conferences and seminars with social leaders, educational institutions and business organizations worldwide...
, Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, Marion Woodman
Marion Woodman
Marion Woodman is a Canadian mythopoetic author and women's movement figure. She is a Jungian analyst trained at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland. She is one of the most widely read authors on feminine psychology, focusing on psyche and soma. She is also an international lecturer...
, James Hillman
James Hillman
James Hillman was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, founded a movement toward archetypal psychology and retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27,...
, and Robert Bly
Robert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
http://pacifica.edu/public_programs.aspx.
Campuses
Pacifica’s two campus locations are near each other in the foothills of the Santa Barbara suburbs. They are retreat settings with views of the Pacific ocean. The Lambert Road Campus is the former Max Fleishman estatehttp://pacifica.edu/.Joseph Campbell Collection at OPUS
Joseph CampbellJoseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
's papers and collections have been entrusted to the OPUS Archives and Research Center on the campuses of Pacifica Graduate Institute. The renowned author, scholar, and mythologist was a long-time friend of Pacifica and a frequent guest lecturer. After Campbell's death, Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman is a dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director.-Early years:Erdman was born on February 20, 1916 in Honolulu, Hawaii...
and the Joseph Campbell Foundation
Joseph Campbell Foundation
The Joseph Campbell Foundation is a US not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserve, protect and perpetuate the work of influential American mythologist Joseph Campbell...
donated his papers, books and other effects to the Center for the Study of Depth Psychology at Pacifica. The center became OPUS Archives and Research Center and is the home of the collectionhttp://www.opusarchives.org/. The founding curator, Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young is a psychologist who became the founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives.-Background:Young developed an interest in the teaching functions of stories through early exposure to folklore. He was one of six children in a much-traveled family...
, worked closely with Ms. Erdman to gather the materials from Campbell's homes in Honolulu and Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
http://folkstory.com/stephen_aizenstat_pacifica.html. The Campbell Collection features approximately 3,000 volumes and covers a broad range of subjects, including anthropology, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, literature, and psychology. The collection also includes audio and video tapes of lectures, original manuscripts, and research papers. The current curator and librarian is Richard Buchen. The OPUS Archives also contain the collections of many other key figures in the development of depth psychology
Depth psychology
Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...
http://www.opusarchives.org/.
James Hillman Collection at OPUS
James HillmanJames Hillman
James Hillman was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, founded a movement toward archetypal psychology and retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27,...
's papers and book drafts are held at the Opus Archives and Research Center.