Begin Your Study of Jungian Psychology

Jung’s ideas can be difficult to approach alone. This course gives students a clear, guided introduction to the basic concepts that shape Jungian and depth psychological study.

C. G. Jung’s psychology has influenced psychotherapy, dream work, spirituality, mythology, literature, religious studies, the arts, and the modern search for meaning. Yet many students find Jung difficult to read without a reliable guide. This self-paced course introduces the essential terms and ideas of Jungian psychology in a clear and organized way. We begin with the basic structure of the psyche, then move step by step through ego, unconscious, complexes, psychic energy, archetypes, persona, shadow, anima and animus, the Self, individuation, and the ego-Self axis. Jung 101 is the best starting point for most students entering the Academy’s Jungian studies sequence. It may be taken as a standalone course, or as the first required course in the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.
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Learn the Basic Language of Jungian Psychology

Before we can work with dreams, symbols, mythology, shadow, or active imagination, we need a clear foundation in Jung’s understanding of the psyche.

Jungian psychology opens a rich and symbolically powerful way of understanding human life. But its central ideas are often misunderstood because Jung’s language is complex, layered, and sometimes difficult for new readers to enter. In Jung 101, we slow the material down and build carefully from the ground up. Students learn how Jung understood the conscious ego, the personal unconscious, complexes, psychic energy, the collective unconscious, archetypes, and the process of individuation. The aim is not simply to memorize Jungian vocabulary. The deeper aim is to help students understand how these concepts fit together into a living model of the psyche, one that can illuminate dreams, inner work, psychological development, spiritual life, creativity, and culture.
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Learn the Basic Language of Jungian Psychology

Who This Course Is For

This course is well suited for therapists, counselors, educators, clergy, spiritual directors, artists, writers, students of religion and mythology, and serious lay learners who want a grounded introduction to Jungian psychology.

It is especially appropriate for students who are new to Jung, or who have encountered Jung through dreams, mythology, spirituality, personality theory, synchronicity, shadow work, or popular culture and now want a more reliable foundation.

This course is also the recommended starting point for students interested in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

This course is especially helpful for students who want to understand:

  • The ego and the unconscious
  • Complexes and emotional patterns
  • Psychic energy and symbolic life
  • Archetypes and the collective unconscious
  • Persona and shadow
  • Anima and animus
  • The archetype of the Self
  • Individuation and the ego-Self axis
  • Why Jung’s psychology remains so important for dreams, myth, spirituality, culture, and inner work

What You Will Study

In this course, we explore:

  • Jung’s life and intellectual development
  • The ego as the center of consciousness
  • The unconscious as a living psychological reality
  • The personal unconscious and the complexes
  • Jung’s theory of psychic energy
  • Archetypes and the collective unconscious
  • Persona and shadow
  • Anima and animus
  • The archetype of the Self
  • The process of individuation
  • The ego-Self axis
  • How Jung’s concepts prepare students for dream work, active imagination, mythology, fairy tales, alchemy, and the broader study of depth psychology


The course is designed to make Jung’s ideas understandable without watering them down. Students receive a serious introduction to Jungian psychology, but in a format that is welcoming, paced, and accessible.

Your Instructor

  • James R. Newell, Ph.D.

    Senior Instructor

    James R. Newell, Ph.D.

    James Newell is an educator, counselor, personal coach, professional musician, and the director of the Depth Psychology Alliance. James earned his master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling and Theology from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, with a focus on Jungian psychology. He earned his doctorate in History of Religions from the Vanderbilt University Graduate School of Religion. James has taught online and face to face courses for Central Michigan University, Western Kentucky University, Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State University, and other institutions.

What others are saying...

Bonnie Bright, PhD, founder of the Depth Psychology Alliance

Dr. James Newell is a gifted teacher

Bonnie Bright, PhD, founder of the Depth Psychology Alliance

Dr. James Newell is a gifted teacher and scholar who has effectively organized an impressive amount of detailed research and information into a series of powerful classes and courses on Jung and Jung’s psychology, now available on Depth Psychology Academy. Students at all levels can gain a depth of understanding about how Jung’s ideas can change our lives and our world as Dr. Newell explains each topic very clearly and at exactly the right pace for students of all levels to take it in.
Monica Flores, Ed.D

Jung 101 gave me a deeper understanding of Jung’s theory

Monica Flores, Ed.D

Jung 101: Introduction to Jungian Psychology gave me a deeper understanding of the history of Jung’s theory and of the Jungian perspective. From Jung’s early influences to learning how Jung himself was developing a unique way of understanding Self, man/woman, and their symbols, I gained an understanding of a number of Jungian terms and concepts.
Ann Amberg, MCS, Transpersonal Leadership Consultant

James is a knowledgeable and caring instructor with an engaging teaching style

Ann Amberg, MCS, Transpersonal Leadership Consultant

I highly recommend Dr. James Newell’s courses. Upon completion of my certificate in Depth Psychology I had gained the confidence, focus and knowledge to support my success in my current PhD program in Jungian and Archetypal Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute. James is a knowledgeable and caring instructor with an engaging teaching style. All of the Depth Psychology Alliance courses I took: Introduction to Jungian Psychology, Active Imagination, Fairy Tales, Dreams, and many more, were phenomenal and I am most grateful for the opportunity to study with James.
Nirlap Bettenhauser, student

The courses I have taken with Dr. Newell have perfectly prepped me for my graduate studies in psychoanalysis

Nirlap Bettenhauser, student

This is an outstanding educational program where one can learn multiple areas of Jungian Psychology. These courses are very well structured with an appropriate course load and high quality texts. Plus the price is incredibly reasonable. The courses I have taken with Dr. Newell have been intellectually engaging and have perfectly prepped me for my graduate studies in psychoanalysis. Not something I expected to receive from the academy, but very grateful I did.

A Strong Beginning for Serious Jungian Study

Jung 101 gives students the conceptual foundation needed for the rest of the Academy’s Jungian and depth psychology courses.

Jungian psychology becomes much easier to understand when its basic ideas are introduced in a clear sequence. This course gives students the vocabulary and conceptual map needed to move more confidently into dream work, active imagination, mythology, fairy tales, alchemy, applied depth psychology, and the history of depth psychology. For many students, Jung 101 is the gateway into a much larger field of study. It is a beginning course, but it is not superficial. It introduces the core ideas that return again and again throughout Jung’s work and throughout the Academy’s full Jungian studies sequence.
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A Strong Beginning for Serious Jungian Study

Course Structure

A self-paced course designed for careful, guided study

Jung 101 is a self-paced course organized into eight modules. Students can move through the material at their own pace while following the course lessons, quizzes, readings or resources, and completion steps on the Academy site.

This course was designed as a clear introduction to Jungian psychology and as the recommended first step in the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Welcome to Jung 101!
  • 2
    Module 1: The Ego and the Unconscious
    • M1/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M1/2: Course Syllabus
    • M1/3: Video Lesson: The Ego and the Unconscious
    • M1/4: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M1/5: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 1 in the textbook)
    • M1/6: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M1/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
  • 3
    Module 2: The Complexes
    • M2/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M2/2: Video Lesson: The Complexes
    • M2/3: Video Quiz
    • M2/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 2 in the textbook)
    • M2/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M2/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M2/7: Additional, Optional Video Resource: James Hollis on Complexes
  • 4
    Module 3: Psychic Energy
    • M3/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M3/2: Video Lesson: Jung's Understanding of Psychic (Psychological) Energy.
    • M3/3: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M3/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 3 in the textbook)
    • M3/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources.
    • M3/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M3/7: Additional, Optional Video Resource: Carl Jung - BBC Interview - 1959
  • 5
    Module 4: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
    • M4/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M4/2: Video Lesson: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
    • M4/3: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M4/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 4 in the textbook)
    • M4/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M4/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M4/7: Additional, Optional Video Resource: A Discussion of Archetypes
  • 6
    Module 5: The Persona and the Shadow
    • M5/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M5/2: Video Lesson: The Persona and the Shadow
    • M5/3: Module 5 Video Quiz
    • M5/4: Module 5 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 5 in the textbook)
    • M5/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M5/6: Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M5/7: Additional, Optional Video Resources: James Hollis on Projection, and on the Shadow
  • 7
    Module 6: The Anima and the Animus
    • M6/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M6/2: Video Lesson: The Anima and the Animus
    • M6/3: Module 6 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M6/4: Module 6 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 6 in the textbook)
    • M6/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M6/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
  • 8
    Module 7: The Archetype of the Self
    • M7/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M7/2: Module 7 Video Lesson: The Archetype of the Self
    • M7/3: Module 7 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M7/4: Module 7 Readings Quiz (All questions are based on chapter 7 in the textbook).
    • M7/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M7/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M7/7: Additional, Optional Video Resource: Edward Edinger on the Archetype of the Self
  • 9
    Module 8: Individuation and the Ego-Self Axis
    • M8/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M8/2: Module 8 Video Lesson: Individuation and the Ego-Self Axis
    • M8/3: Module 8 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M8/4: Module 8 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on chapter 8 in the textbook)
    • M8/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources.
    • M8/6: Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M8/7: Additional, Optional Video Resource: Edward Edinger on Individuation
    • M8/8: Course Completion

Part of the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology

Jung 101 is the recommended first course in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

Jung 101 is one of the four required courses in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

The full certificate pathway includes:

  1. Jung 101: Introduction to Jungian Psychology
  2. Jung 102: Applied Jungian Psychology
  3. Jung 103: Jung and Dreams
  4. Jung 104: Jung and Active Imagination


Together, these four courses provide a guided foundation in Jungian concepts, applied depth psychology, dream work, and active imagination. Students who complete all four courses, including all required lessons, quizzes, readings or materials, and lesson completion steps, may request enrollment in the final Certificate Completion course after receiving the individual course completion certificates for all four courses.

Students may also take Jung 101 as a standalone course. It is complete in itself and is especially valuable for anyone who wants a clear introduction to Jung’s basic psychological ideas before moving into more specialized study.

Begin with the Foundations of Jungian Psychology

Jung 101 offers a clear and welcoming entry into the ideas that shape the rest of the Academy’s Jungian studies sequence.

Whether you are completely new to Jung or returning to his work with fresh questions, Jung 101 offers a careful introduction to the basic concepts that make Jungian psychology so enduring and important. This course will help you understand the language of Jungian psychology, recognize the structure of the psyche, and prepare for deeper study in dreams, symbols, shadow, active imagination, mythology, alchemy, and the individuation process. Enroll now to begin your study of Jungian psychology with a clear, grounded, and accessible foundation.
Enroll now