About Suzanne

Jungian analyst | Sandplay therapist | author

Education

BSc Behavioural Neuroscience at Sussex University (UK), MA Media at Sydney University (AU), Jungian psychoanalysis at Jung Academy Amsterdam, Jungian Training at NAAP (IAAP), Sandplay (ISST).

Philosophy

Central to my view of why we pursue therapy is an inherent longing to return to soul. Although we might start with a desire and need to free ourselves from restricting patterns, inherent to soul is a deeper belonging, both within ourselves and within the larger ecology of life.

Personal Background

Since my youth I have been interested in how things are related, and what story is being told. I made my own studies by observing the natural world, reading and following a gut instinct. That instinct first told me the world is alive and connected in a way I could feel, but not yet explain. I followed a deep passion for the Earth and studied Behavioural Neuroscience with a focus on ethology. I pursued an MA in communications to nurture my love for writing and spent a few miserable years in corporate life. In my late twenties, a depression returned me back to my roots. I reconnected to my passion for the Earth and poured both studies into wildlife documentary filmmaking with the intention to connect people into appreciation for and awe of the beauty of Earth.

Psyche and Soma

Pregnancy and motherhood opened me up into unknown spaces, both light and dark. While searching for a reflection to explain and contain my experiences, I found Jungian psychology and met my Sufi teacher in the same month. Aided by bodywork, this period reinvigorated my passion for the unknown, and the mystical took root in my daily life. It rekindled my connection with the world of story that had seeded itself in childhood. I immersed into the feminine psyche, learned the oral art of storytelling and began an interdisciplinary research into the relational aspect of psyche.

Today, this interdisciplinary braiding of Jungian psychology, Sufi mysticism and the natural sciences express themselves in my research and work through a therapeutic approach that honours both spirit (psyche) and matter (body) as one.

Interests & Research: the Anima Mundi

My passion lies in the empirical and ontological research of the Anima Mundi (Soul of the World) by exploring the relational aspect of psyche and soma through the lenses of Jungian psychology archetypal psychology, ecopsychology, ecology and mysticism. While the naming of ‘Anima Mundi’ originates from Plato, the concept of the world being alive and conscious has roots in indigenous and mystical tradition worldwide and across all timelines. I wrote my thesis on this subject addressing its importance, presence and absence within Jungian psychological theory and practice. If you are curious to know more, you can find a small part of the thesis in this article.

Collaborations

I collaborate in workshops with the Mothership in Hamburg where we explore the collective psyche via art & storytelling in live workshops as well as online.