Susan Olson

 

Susan L. Olson, L.C.S.W.
1778-B Century Boulevard N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
404-771-1773
susanolson42@earthlink.net

Susan Olson graduated from Smith College (1964), the University of Georgia (1975), and the C.G. Jung Institute-Zurich (1992). She practices analysis in Atlanta and is affiliated with the Memphis-Atlanta Seminar of the Inter-Regional society of Jungian Analysts. Susan lectures and presents workshops on a variety of subjects related to Analytical Psychology. She is the author of By Grief Transformed: Dreams and the Mourning Process (Spring Journal Books, 2010) and several articles.

 Articles & Audio

"The individual soul is the vessel of life, and the thing of greatest importance." - C.G. Jung

 Books

By Grief Transformed: Dreams and the Mourning Process
Spring Journal Books, 2010

In her first year of analytical training, Susan Olson suffered the loss of her daughter in an auto accident.  By Grief Transformed chronicles Susan’s journey through mourning, guided by a series of vivid and startling dreams. Jung's definition of the dream as "a harbinger of fate, a portent and comforter, the messenger of the gods" evolves from academic theory to embodied insight in this account of the transforming power of grief. From personal story, the book expands to include dreams from others, Jung's dreams, and selections from mythology and literature. Classical and contemporary writers offer relevant contributions, and illustrations from ancient and modern art enhance the text. On the archetypal level, the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone depicts the universal experience of loss and renewal in the crucible of grief. The dreams and stories recounted here, together with some provocative hints from Jung's work, suggest that death may open the door into an imaginal world beyond time and space. Dreams of the dead challenge and comfort the bereaved, offer glimpses of the "hereafter," and evoke the eternal mystery of death and rebirth.