We asked our alumni how their degree influenced their professional lives. Here's some of their responses.

"Once I began at Pacifica I was able to bring a different lens to the work I do as an organizational consultant. As I brought a new awareness it provided a place for my clients to reflect more on what they are doing and where they are going. It enhanced my Executive Coaching work as well as provided a more conscious approach to systemic issues in organizations and a more wholistic approach - providing people an opportunity to see what they create in themselves and in others and the impact on the world. It enriched my work. It also provided a more creative field. I feel like the journey cracked open a door into a rich chamber where I continue to shine light and find my way. I now have a position at Seattle University which requires a PhD. Teaching in the OSR program is providing an ongoing venue to examine and increase this depth psychological perspective in my life and to serve the larger community as a whole. I love being in this dance with people and with nature." (Addi Brooks)

"Although the degrees were important to me to top off a checkered international education, they were secondary to the 360 degree and 100 feet deep vision I developed while at Pacifica. Now I always look at the big picture." (Rosmarie Bogner)

"My work at Pacifca has unquestionably influenced my writing. I wrote a weekly column on popular culture, politics, and psychology for over 20 years. It became a victim of the recession a few months ago, but I 've been asked to resume it with a syndicate." (Clifton Bostock)

"It always seemed to me that something very deep occurs in the life of a developing leader, something far beyond learning knowledge or practicing a skill. It leads to a “way of being” or a profound wisdom that apparently results from experiences not everyone has. The Pacifica experience helped me identify it as similar to the heroic journey or a rite of passage, the alchemical or the individuation process. In all of these, the candidate suffers significantly, at some point succumbing to death (of the ego), and then experiencing rebirth as a wiser, more humble person with greater perspective and understanding. I have now developed workshops in which this ordeal is not only talked about but also experienced. And I should note as a practical matter that those three new letters at the end of my name have opened doors I didn’t even know existed." (George Davis)

"I had a professional interest in better understanding the unconscious. Pacifica did provide that deeper understanding. I've begun to utilize interventions in my work that connect more directly with the unconscious (dreamwork, EMDR, and hypnosis, for example)." (Ray Brown)

"It has helped me get published and teach. My degree has served me very well indeed." (Craig Chalquist)

"I use the Dr. title to get good dinner and travel reservations!" (Jennifer Freed)

"My work in depth has opened up new possibilites for research that bridges education, history of science, and women's studies. I began my work getting to know Spinoza and other alchemists but found my way to the women alchemists whose stories have become my passion. I am writing a book about them. I also infuse Jungian concepts in my teacher ed classes and students respond enthusiastically, sensing that their students have needs that transcend test scores." (Robin Gordon)

"My role as Director of Outpatient Services for a holistic drug and alcohol treatment facility has allowed me to bridge many of the traditional beliefs about drug and alcohol treatment with more integrative approaches. Because of my Pacifica degree I have been privileged to create new treatment programs that focus on giving voice to often marginalized aspects of self, to address trauma and traumatic responses with compassion and insight, and to invite clients to reexamine their beliefs about themselves and world such that they might find another way to relate to themselves, to others, and with the world." (Krista Lauren Gilbert)

"It has expanded my horizons and provided access to rich resources, examples of living symbolically, and exposure to rigorous scholarship and wild imagination." (Virginia Graham)

"We had a school assembly to honor me. I received a pay rise :) I gave a school seminar on my PhD research. My students love calling me "Dr. Meyer."  I am fortunate enough to work with faculty who are always interested in research and new ideas. I have presented my research at two CAIS (California Association of Independent Schools) Conferences and I am working on a committee with our librarians to develop new strategies for teaching online research. As a result of my Pacifica studies with Susan Griffin and Mary Watkins, I developed my own senior elective course (Women in World History), and I also expanded our Western Political Thought Elective to include Jung's ideas on the Collective Unconscious and the Shadow as factors in causing wars." (Ruth Meyer)

"I graduated from Pacifica on May 27, 2005 and Katrina hit almost exactly 3 months later, virtually destroying the entire coastline of Mississippi and plunging my community into a dark journey from which we are yet to emerge.  Nevertheless, the fissures of tragedy opened pockets of opportunity for vision, and I was honored to play an early leadership role - first in recovery amidst chaos and then in the organization of a new justice-seeking nonprofit.  My move from community service to clinical practice has been recent, and, in part, a response to continuing high levels of psychological distress.  In all of my work since Katrina, a depth psychologcal understanding of trauma and healing has stood me in very good stead." (Melinda Harthcock)

"In 1997, I was restless and knew my life needed redirection. I thought the change might be a different line of work; instead, the work in education has expanded to a deeper and more intense level." (Susan Laskowski)

"I started at Pacifica the month after beginning as coordinator of a program for at-risk teen males. What I learned from my studies–the perspective of listening to and giving voice to soul–immediately informed my approach to working with youth and my vision for youth and community development. I currently oversee programs at the community college for special populations, including at-risk and foster youth, low-income students and older adults. I strive to find ways to bring a depth psychological perspective to these programs, as challenging as that proves to be much of the time. In Fall 2008 I began teaching a course on depth psychology and modern culture, which has sparked the re-emergence of the Central Coast Jung Society." (Matthew Green)

"Professionally my life continues on the same course but with deeper understanding and appreciation for the soulful perspective. I feel settled and accomplished." (B. J. Jakala)

"It has been a portion of the tapestry of my life which has helped me to be more compassionate and humble when working with others." (Connie Sue Poppino)

"Promotion for rank advancement at the university was achieved but more significant than that, for me, was the 'advancement' in my own sense of self in my profession and vocation. The courses and interactions with students and instructors assisted me in appreciating my unique voice in answering the call in my work, my vocation and avocation." (Patricia Taylor)

"My study at Pacifica influences nearly everything I do, from teaching and lecturing, to group work, dreamwork, oracular consultations. And the fact that I have a Ph.D. means that people trust my work more instinctively when they come to my retreats, and also I am offered lecturing opportunities in a much broader spectrum of organizations than I would without it, certainly." (Tayria Ward)