Working with a Symbol – Small-Group Course

Seven sessions to establish a connection with the unconscious

Please note: The small-group course teaches the same Working with a Symbol method and the same seven stages as Working with a Symbol – Individual Course. The small-group course is arranged for a group of 3–6 people that you assemble yourself and costs €290 per participant.

How can we learn to recognise what the unconscious seeks to bring into consciousness? And how can we develop a connection with it and learn to understand its symbolic language?

In Jungian psychology, symbols play a central role in the interaction between the conscious mind and the unconscious. Dreams, spontaneous mental images and other personally meaningful symbols can reveal something that we do not yet consciously recognise or understand.

On the Working with a Symbol course, you will learn a method developed by Minna Kirsi for exploring symbols and the unconscious meanings they convey. Over seven sessions, we will examine how unconscious content can be approached through symbols and how exploring them can help build a more conscious relationship with one's inner world.

The method's central frame of reference is Jungian psychology and its understanding of symbols as mediators between the conscious mind and the unconscious. The course also introduces the shadow, the significance of psychic opposites and the transcendent function, through which a new understanding can emerge from conflicting aspects of the psyche. The broader background to the work is C. G. Jung's concept of individuation: the idea of gradually becoming oneself as we learn to recognise and accept more of the different aspects of our psyche. Through work with symbols, we explore what the unconscious seeks to bring into consciousness and how we can develop a relationship with our inner world.

How does the course progress?

The course consists of seven sessions. Between sessions, you will work independently with your chosen symbol using the Working with a Symbol workbook.

In the sessions, we will explore the content of each stage, its underlying psychology and the matters to consider in the work. We will discuss the experiences, observations and questions arising from the exercises. We will also use supplementary exercises where needed.

This gives you both the theoretical foundations of the method and an opportunity to deepen your own work through guidance and discussion.

The seven stages of the course

1. Recognising the symbol

What makes an image, figure, object or mental image personally meaningful, for example? We will explore the concept of the symbol and how symbols can bring unconscious content into consciousness. You will learn to recognise and choose a symbol to work with.

2. Personal meaning

We will explore how the meaning of a symbol relates to your own experiences, memories, feelings and associations. We will also examine the cultural and archetypal meanings of symbols and how our own relationship with a symbol affects the way we experience it.

3. Encountering the shadow

We will explore Jung's concept of the shadow and how a symbol can reveal aspects of ourselves that are difficult to accept or have not yet been recognised. We will discuss psychic opposites and the transcendent function, and their significance in Jungian psychology.

4. Embodying the symbol

We will explore how the experiences and meanings that emerge when working with a symbol can be expressed through the body, postures, gestures and movement. We will consider the significance of bodily experience in exploring the symbol.

5. A ritual act

We will explore the historical and psychological significance of rituals and the possibilities of symbolic action. We will examine how a ritual act can give concrete form to experiences and meanings that emerge when working with a symbol and help explore them in a new way.

6. Observing change

We will consider what has begun to enter consciousness during the work with a symbol. What is the symbol seeking to convey? What connections have emerged with your own life, inner conflicts or previously unrecognised aspects of yourself? We will explore how the message conveyed by the symbol can gradually take shape and how understanding it can open up new perspectives on your own life.

7. Integration

We will bring together the understanding that has emerged during the work and consider what it means in your own life. A central part of this stage is choosing a concrete action: how could the message conveyed by the symbol and the understanding gained from it be taken into account in your own life? We will also consider this from the perspective of Jung's concept of individuation and reflect on how to continue working with symbols independently.

Which symbol can you choose?

The starting point for working with a symbol can be something that has stayed particularly clearly in your mind, aroused strong feelings or caught your attention in a way you cannot quite explain. You do not need to understand its meaning in advance. On the course, you will learn to recognise the kinds of mental images, experiences and observations that can serve as starting points for working with a symbol.

For example, you could choose:

• a figure, object, animal or place that appeared in a dream
• a recurring mental image or one that has stayed unusually vividly in your mind
• something that fascinates, puzzles or frightens you, or evokes resistance
• an image, theme or phenomenon that repeatedly catches your attention in your life
• a factor in your astrological birth chart whose meaning you wish to explore

You can also join the course if you have already begun working with the Working with a Symbol workbook and would like to deepen your understanding of the method.

Small-group course

€290 per participant

Assemble your own group of 3–6 people and explore together what your unconscious can reveal and how to learn to understand its messages.

Over seven sessions, we will learn how symbols can be used to explore one's inner world and recognise what the unconscious seeks to bring into consciousness. Each participant works independently with their chosen symbol using the workbook. In the shared sessions, we will explore the topics through teaching and discussion.

In the group, you will also hear other people's observations and experiences, which may open up new perspectives on your own work. Sharing your own experiences is voluntary.

The course includes:

• Teaching on the method's seven stages and their psychological background
• Guided discussions of the experiences, observations and questions arising from the work
• Supplementary exercises as needed

Booking and paying for the small-group course

You can purchase the course directly from the online shop or contact us first if you would like to ask about the course content or practical arrangements.

The small-group course is arranged for a pre-formed group of 3–6 people. The group appoints an organiser who books the course, pays the entire group's course fee and acts as the contact person for practical course arrangements.

The course costs €290 per participant. The total price is determined by the number of participants confirmed at the time of booking.

Select the number of participants from the product options. One product represents a course booking for the entire group, priced at €870 (3 participants), €1,160 (4 participants), €1,450 (5 participants) or €1,740 (6 participants).

The organiser ensures that all participants receive information about the course content, schedule and practical participation arrangements.

Session times are agreed after booking. As a rule, the course starts no earlier than 14 days after the order is placed.

As a rule, an individual participant's absence does not cause the entire group's session to be rescheduled. Rescheduling a session for the whole group may be agreed separately.

Who is the course for?

The course is suitable for anyone who wishes to establish a deeper connection with their unconscious, understand recurring dreams or explore mental images that seem enigmatic or irrational, or evoke strong feelings. It is also suitable for those interested in Jungian psychology and exploring the unconscious.

The course is intended both for those encountering work with symbols for the first time and for those who wish to deepen their existing knowledge of the subject.

The aim of the course

The aim of the course is for you to learn to use the Working with a Symbol method independently after the course has ended. You will also learn to recognise the personal meanings of symbols and explore what the unconscious seeks to bring into your awareness through them.

Course facilitator

The course is led by Minna Kirsi, the developer of the Working with a Symbol method, a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and the founder of Semiphoras Oy.

Minna has extensive clinical experience of working with human psychological processes. For decades, she has studied symbols, dreams, myths, archetypes and various philosophical and spiritual traditions. C. G. Jung's thinking has been a central part of her professional and personal interests.

The Working with a Symbol method has grown out of this long-standing study, her psychotherapeutic experience and her own experiential work with symbols. On the course, Minna teaches the method she has developed and helps participants understand what the unconscious can reveal through symbols.

Practical information

• Format: For a small group of 3–6 people that you assemble yourself
• Duration: Seven sessions, preferably approximately one week apart
• Session length: Approximately two hours
• Location: In Espoo or online, as agreed
• Course material: The Working with a Symbol workbook in PDF format is included in the price, supplied to each participant at the start of the course and theirs to keep
• Exercises: Participants complete the workbook exercises independently between sessions
• Schedule: Session times are agreed with the group organiser

Courses elsewhere in Finland

The small-group course may also be held at the group's own premises or another location agreed together. If you would like the facilitator to travel outside Espoo, please contact us before ordering and request a quotation. In this case, the course price is determined by the location and travel and other arrangement costs.

Interested in the course?

Get in touch so that we can agree on arrangements that suit your group.

minna.kirsi@semiphoras.com

Nature of the course

The course teaches the Working with a Symbol method and is an educational course based on independent work. It is not psychotherapy or a healthcare service.

Purchases of the course are subject to Semiphoras Oy's booking and cancellation terms.