Susan McGuire, MFT JUNGIAN ANALYST

As a Jungian analyst with a background in the arts & entertainment worlds, my experience and creative thinking is well suited to help others in developing a relationship with their unconscious attitudes and behaviors that cause emotional and physical pain and suffering.

Growing up near New York City, I developed a keen interest in the arts and diverse cultures as a way of understanding the human mind and its imagination. In undergraduate school, while studying art history, I was introduced to the renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. Through his autobiography, "Memories, Dreams, and Reflections," and his essay on the meaning of symbolic images in language and dreams, "Man and His Symbols," the worlds of philosophy, mythology and psychology became the focus of my personal work. Since then, I have spent my life exploring the connection between the artistic image, dreams and the individuation process. 

Early on in my professional work, writing, speaking, public relations, and producing were areas that suited my personality and gave me access to a wide range of rich experiences in the field of entertainment, sports, performance art, and health. In addition, regular volunteer work, particularly with the hospice team at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, allowed me to give back to my community.  At mid-life, I returned to graduate school to study world mythologies and the work of C. G. Jung, who discovered the mysteries of creative expression and illuminated a way to live a truly authentic life.  For many years, I immersed myself in Jungian analysis as a way to understand and manage difficult personal and professional challenges. As my interest in the mysteries of the psyche grew, I enrolled in a six-year training program and received a Diploma in Jungian analysis. In addition, I am an avid painter.

Common reasons people choose to work with me:

Individual Jungian analysis • Dreamwork • Stage-of-life transitions • Relationship issues • Stress reduction • Anxiety • Depression • Grief and loss • Searching for one’s purpose in life• Death and dying • Loss of meaning • Unblocking creative expression •Counseling for therapists •