About Jean
Professional Biography
Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst and an internationally known author and speaker. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California Medical Center and a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women, the International Transpersonal Association, and the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She is the author of thirteen books in over one hundred foreign editions. She is a NGO Permanent Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from the Women’s World Summit Foundation (Geneva), also represents Pathways To Peace, The Millionth Circle, Earthchild Institute, Women’s Perspective, and the International Public Policy Institute. She is in three acclaimed documentaries: the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film “Women – For America, For the World,” the Canadian Film Board’s “Goddess Remembered,” and “Femme: Women Healing the World.
Dr. Bolen entered the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco’s Analytical Training Program in 1967, completed requirements for certification as a Jungian analyst in 1974, becoming a Diplomate and a member of the International Association of Analytical Psychology. She was the founder and first chairperson of the Candidates Organization in 1973; a member of the Board of Governors 1973 – 1975, 1983 – 1985; served on the Certifying Committee 1978 – 1981, and was Chairperson of the Certifying Committee and the Joint Board of the Northern and Southern California Societies of Jungian Analysts 1980 -81. She has taught candidates at the San Francisco Institute and at the C.G Jung Institute of Zurich at Kusnacht, lectures at Jungian Centers and Institutes in the United States, and presented at several Congresses of International Association of Analytical Psychology.
Jean Shinoda Bolen is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a past Chairperson of the Council of National Affairs of the APA, a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, and a former Board member of the International Transpersonal Association. She is an Analyst-member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco and the International Association for Analytical Psychology.
She is a past member of the Board of Governors of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, and past Chairperson of the Joint Certifying Board of the Northern and Southern California Societies of Jungian Analysts. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Ms. Foundation for Women. She founded and co-chaired Psychiatrists for ERA, which was a major influence within psychiatry in the early 1980’s, that evolved into the Association for Women in Psychiatry.
Graduate of UCSF Medical School (1962), UCSF Residency in Psychiatry (1966). UCSF Faculty (1967 -2010)
Dr. Bolen attended UCLA and Pomona College prior to graduating from the University of California at Berkeley in 1958. She then entered the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco, receiving her M.D. in 1962, followed by a rotating internship at Los Angeles County General Hospital and a residency in psychiatry at the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco. Her analytic training was done at the C.G. Jung Institute in San Francisco. She brings an emphasis on the question for meaning and the need for a spiritual dimension in life to all aspects of her work, while also taking into account the powerful effects of archetypes within us and family and culture upon us.
Her books are used as college and university texts in gender studies, women’s psychology, mythology, spirituality, east-west philosophy, and psychology courses. She has been an advocate for women, women’s issues, and ethics in psychiatry. With her former husband, she co-founded Psychic and New Realities magazines, publications about parapsychological, and mind-body-spiritual subjects. She is in the widely acclaimed documentary, “Goddess Remembered,” the first of the Canadian Film Board’s trilogy. Dr. Bolen is the author of thirteen books in over one hundred translations: The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don’t Whine, Urgent Message from Mother, Like a Tree, Moving Towards the Millionth Circle and Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman. The 30th anniversary edition of Goddesses in Everywoman and the 25th anniversary edition of Gods in Everyman were published in 2014.
Published Books
The Tao of Psychology: Synchronicity and the Self
(HarperCollins 1979, 25th anniversary edition, 2004)
Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives
(HarperCollins 1984, 20th anniversary edition, 2004, 30th anniversary edition, 2014)
Gods in Everyman: Archetypes that Shape Men’s Lives
(HarperCollins 1989, 25th anniversary edition, 2014)
Ring of Power: Symbols and Themes in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and in Us
(HarperCollins 1992, Nicolas-Hays 1999)
Crossing to Avalon: A Woman’s Midlife Quest for the Sacred Feminine
(HarperCollins 1994)
Close to the Bone: Life Threatening Illness as a Soul Journey
(Scribners 1996, Simon & Schuster 1998, Red Wheel /Conari, Revised Edition, 2007)
The Millionth Circle: How to Change Ourselves and the World
(Conari Press 1999)
Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women over Fifty
(Harper Collins 2001)
Crones Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women
(Red Wheel/Conari 2003)
Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World
(Conari Red Wheel 2005)
Like a Tree: How Trees, Women, and Tree People Can Save the Planet
(Red Wheel /Conari, 2011)
Moving Toward the Millionth Circle: Energizing the Global Women’s Movement
(Red Wheel /Conari, 2013)
Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman
(Red Wheel /Conari, 2014)
Dr. Bolen maintains a virtual private practice via Facetime or Zoom. She draws from decades of work with individuals in Jungian analysis and the accumulated knowledge of people and the effect of family and culture, with an emphasis on individuation and meaning. She is a consultant to other professionals. It is unusual for her to have a regular time-slot openings in her practice, which means that some flexibility is needed to fit into cancellations until a regular time becomes available. However, it sometimes seems as if synchronicity and schedule will work together. She is on no insurance panels.
First contact: best via email with your contact information, referral or self-referral and any other relevant information and/or questions.