Leading Australian Jungian to address
70th Anniversary Guild Conference

Dr David Tacey is a well-known writer and broadcaster in Australia on issues of spirituality.  Associate Professor of English and Psychoanalytic Studies at La Trobe University, Melbourne, he is a world-renowned Jungian academic. He will address the summer residential conference of The Guild of Pastoral Psychology to be held at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford in August this year:  22-25 August.

2007 marks the 70th Anniversary of The Guild, which was founded in 1937 under the patronage of C.G. Jung.

Since 11 September 2001, David Tacey has written and lectured extensively on the differences between spirituality and fundamentalism. In 2002 he wrote: “There is growing interest in spirituality in the wider community today, but because matters of the spirit are so divisive and productive of conflict we have to make real distinctions between spirituality and fundamentalism. After the events of 11 September 2001, we have to be very careful when we talk about the rising interest in spirituality, and differentiate clearly between creative and destructive forms of spiritual interest.”

Other speakers at the Conference will include William Ventimiglia, an ordained minister and Jungian analyst from Boston where he teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute. He will speak on the subject of “God Strife: The Challenge and Opportunity of Radical Fundamentalism”.

The four day residential Conference (22 - 25 August) will be held at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford and will explore the theme “In Search of Soul: The Realisation of the Self in Personal Life and the World”.

Bracha Newman, Chair of The Guild said: "The Summer Conference offers a unique experience to participants. The programme combines the depth of academic thinking together with the opportunity for personal spiritual reflection and discussion with other participants in the beautiful setting of Oxford's St Hilda's College. This creates a special sense of community throughout the Conference."

For further details about the Conference, please contact
Robert Macdonald on 020 3204 0175 or rob@macdonaldmedia.co.uk or visit www.guildofpastoralpsychology.org.uk.

For press inquiries contact:
Andie Newman
The Guild of Pastoral Psychology
Tel: 07791 532 036
Email: andienewman@hotmail.com

Notes to Editors

The Guild of Pastoral Psychology is for those of all faiths, or none, who wish to enrich their spiritual journey with a greater understanding of modern depth psychology.  The Guild explores the work of Carl Jung and his successors through lectures and conferences, local discussion groups, and publications.  It is committed to religion and spirituality that is rooted in living, personal experience.  Founded in 1937, the Guild has a world-wide membership and Guild publications of lectures enjoy a high reputation.  Anyone may join, attend London meetings and Conferences as a non-member, or purchase individual publications. For more information visit www.guildofpastoralpsychology.org.uk
 

Dr David Tacey teaches courses in spirituality, psychology and literary studies and is associate professor of English and reader in Psychoanalytic Studies at La Trobe University, Melbourne.  He is the author of eight books on Jung, culture and spirituality.  His research interest is the recovery of meaning in the contemporary world, which takes in several disciplines. He is a frequent commentator on issues of spirituality in Australia, having appeared in programs broadcast by the ABC, SBS and Channel Four (UK). Dr Tacey is an occasional columnist for The Age and a reviewer for The Australian and The Australian Book Review. He is frequent contributor to a number of national and international journals on psychology, psychoanalysis, religion, literature, and the arts.
 

William Ventimiglia is a graduate of the C G Jung Institute, Zurich. He is currently in private practice, offering both individual depth psychotherapy and marriage counselling, in Cambridge MA. He teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute in Boston where his special interests are in clinical supervision, dream analysis, art therapy and the psychology of religious experience.  He was a Director of Studies there from 1989 -1992. He is an ordained minister and was with the United Church of Christ from 1973 -1986.