- Degree Options
- MA · PsyD · PhD
- Location
- Online or Hybrid in Los Angeles
- Start Dates
- Quarterly
- Degree Required
- Bachelor’s
- Accreditation
- WASC
Overview
Concentration Description
Meridian University's Depth Psychology concentration begins with the unconscious mind, the hidden part of the self that shapes every human life. For thousands of years, people across the world have turned to myth, symbol, and dream interpretation for guidance. More than a century ago, depth psychology gave that ancient search a formal vocabulary. Today, depth psychotherapy helps people work with trauma held in the psyche, with grief, and with patterns that repeat outside conscious awareness. Its reach extends from personal transformation to the collective life of entire cultures.Coursework covers the methods depth psychologists use to explore the human psyche. Dream analysis draws on both Western psychology and traditional systems. Active imagination, image work, and other imaginal practices offer further tools for working with the inner world. Expressive arts therapies, including art, movement, music, and drama, along with dreamwork, can bring symbols into therapeutic work. Students learn to recognize complexes as they surface in emotional patterns and daily life.Work with clients begins with deep listening and empathic communication. Students explore transference and countertransference, the unconscious processes that unfold within the therapeutic relationship. Both sit at the core of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Ethics training covers the moral reasoning and legal standards of care that depth work with clients requires.The shadow holds the disowned parts of the self. Students trace it from the personal unconscious to the collective unconscious. They learn how projection and scapegoating move unconscious material onto other people. Personal and historical trauma both leave their mark on the psyche. Coursework prepares students to work with the scattered images that follow overwhelming experiences. The work follows the principles of trauma-informed care.Rituals and folk traditions from many cultures carry recurring patterns known as archetypes. The persona, the anima, and the animus are among the best known. Archetypal psychology, which grew out of Jungian psychology, treats the inner life as a community of many selves, each with its own image and voice. It trains students to see through surface events to the images beneath them. The study of synchronicity carries this attention outward, to meaningful coincidences between inner and outer events.Through the therapeutic use of myths and narratives, students learn to help clients see their own life stories as a personal mythology. The same patterns shape collective life. Coursework on the political psyche examines propaganda, political movements, and partisan identity. It also covers internalized oppression, when people turn a culture's prejudice against themselves.Graduates work as marriage and family therapists, professional clinical counselors, and psychologists in private practice and community settings. The same skills carry into organizations, where depth consultation brings attention to the unconscious dynamics that shape teams and workplaces. Others go on to career counseling, depth-oriented coaching, and teaching.“My path to Meridian was magical … One day I literally just said to the universe, there has to be another home where I can learn depth psychology. And on that day, the internet put it at the top of the list: Meridian.”
Coursework
Sample Courses
- Human Development and the Shadow
- The Political Psyche
- Myth, Ritual and Story
- Intersubjective Fields and Transference
- Ego and Self in Depth Psychology
- Individuation and Alchemy
- Archetypal Psychology
“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”
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Hear directly from students about the transformative experience of studying Depth Psychology.
“Finding Meridian was actually kind of a real call to adventure. I’d been looking for a program that was able to kind of harness soul with academic rigor.”
Curriculum
Academic Structure
Meridian's academic structure gives students the flexibility to navigate the University's curricular architecture in ways that match their passions, professional goals, and other life commitments.
The structure is designed to serve a diverse student body, who live around the globe, have varied cultural and clinical visions for their careers, and are at different stages in their professional journey.
Students enroll in a degree program, can elect a concentration, and register for one or multiple courses each quarter. In addition to core courses for the specific degree program and anchor courses that represent the Transformative Learning intent of Meridian's curriculum, students select elective courses that align with their Meridian concentration, background, and career path.
“I have lifelong friends that I’ve made in the program that have really changed my life for the better, and we live hours apart from each other, but we talk to each other almost every day.”
Flexible Delivery
Learning Formats
Meridian University offers two learning formats: Online and Hybrid.
- The Online format is ideal for students completing their degrees remotely, combining synchronous and asynchronous learning.
- The Hybrid format is tailored for those seeking a blend of online learning and in-person classes at Meridian's Los Angeles Campus.
Introducing Unique Impact Scholarships
Available to Meridian University students worldwide, Meridian University's Impact Scholarships represent the University's commitment to supporting graduates to take transformative action in the fields of Business, Education, Leadership, and Psychology.
- The Meridian Social Entrepreneurship Scholarship
- The Meridian Developmental Coaching Scholarship
- The Meridian Collective Trauma Transformation Scholarship
Programs
Degrees Available
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In-Person and Hybrid Learning
The Los Angeles Campus is the primary location for in-person and hybrid courses at Meridian University. Students have the opportunity to engage face-to-face with faculty and peers while also benefiting from the flexibility of online coursework.
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