Saturday November 14, 10 am – 12:30 pm
Held in-person at the Jung Center
Melissa Perrin, PsyD
$55, CEUs: 2.5

*Limited to 18 participants.

Social media is the Collective Unconscious as it is expressed in 2026. Social media offers a shallow dreamscape on which to form a tenuous identity. For many, social media is the robust sense of connection and identity; deeper roots and connections forgotten or taken for granted. For others it is the unconscious made conscious as edges are pushed, truths and untruths offered and AI hallucinates. Archetypes abound. The algorithm provides targeted, marketable synchronicity.

Individuation is the act of separating oneself from the group and exploring. Many cultures have rituals that name and support this stage of development. Anxiety tends to express itself in direct proportion to the depth of the rootedness of our individuation. Social media offers a mid-point of belonging to a collective while having the phantasm of individuation while scrolling through the shallowness of the on-line collective.

In this gathering, participants will analyze aspects of social media, inclusion, exclusion and identity. We will examine aspects of wakeful dreamtime, both in social media and the embodied experience, and identity. We will discuss strategies to support and strengthen individuation for ourselves and those in our sphere of care.

About the Instructor
Dr. Melissa Perrin is a licensed clinical psychologist, whose 40-year career in psychology has centered on clinical practice. Whether speaking at Conferences, Retreats or providing consultation, Dr. Perrin brings research into the scope of human behavior with a deep and interwoven understanding of the human experience interacting with the larger story and energy of our experience.

A gifted teacher, she leads rich seminars and retreats with information that attendees are able to put into practice immediately. She teaches psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology; supervises clinicians; leads wellness retreats; teaches and provides psychospiritual support; and has provided consultation to religious institutions for over 35 years.

Dr. Perrin is a trusted consultant to religious leadership to facilitate healing when clergy have harmed individuals and parishes. She provides clinical consultation for individual clinicians, groups and institutions and is a trusted consultant to spiritual and religious leaders. Dr. Perrin is based in Evanston, Illinois.