Jungian Psychology and Plant Medicine:

This seminar explores the fertile intersection between Jungian psychology and traditional healing practices involving psychoactive plant medicines such as Ayahuasca–Chacruna, Huachuma (San Pedro), and sacred mushrooms. Although Carl Jung never explicitly referenced these entheogens, his psychological framework offers a profound and symbolically rich map for navigating the vast inner landscapes that these sacred medicines so often unveil.

Drawing from extensive personal experiences with Shipibo healers in the Peruvian Amazon, Andean curanderos, and Mazatec healers in Huautla de Jiménez, this seminar weaves together embodied encounters and depth psychological insight to illuminate the deep synergy—and transformative potential—that emerges when Jungian psychology is brought into dialogue with ancestral medicine traditions.

In addition, the seminar will familiarize participants with the core characteristics of these healing traditions, providing an overview of their ritual forms and cultural lineages while highlighting key similarities and differences.

We will also explore practical guidelines for safe and conscious engagement with the medicine, with particular emphasis on the supportive role Jungian psychology can play throughout the process.

Jungian Psychology
and Plant Medicine:
The Map & the Territory

with Jungian Analyst
Arash Golnam, Ph.D.

•

Thursday
October 2, 2025

4-6pm pacific / 7-9pm eastern

Live viz Zoom + Video recording will be available to all guests

“Psychedelics are not new. They have been with us since the beginning of human history. They are ancient tools that have shaped culture, language, and religion. Our ancestors didn’t merely stumble upon them—they honoured them as sacred doorways to healing and insight.”

-Terence McKenna-

arash golnam, ph. D., Iaap

I am a psychoanalyst trained at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. A citizen of both Iran and Switzerland, I now call Lima, Peru my home.

My personal and professional journey weaves together Persian poetry, Jungian psychoanalysis, and plant medicine—a rich tapestry of traditions, cultures, and paradigms spanning continents and centuries. 

Before dedicating myself fully to psychoanalysis, I held diverse roles as a university lecturer, scientist, consultant, and engineer.

My academic path led me to the C.G. Jung Institute following a Ph.D. in Systems Science from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and a Master of Science in System Dynamics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 

www.arash.ch