Entered Pacifica: 1998

Current Occupation

      Associate Professor of Counseling at California State University,

Los Angeles; Vision Quest Guide, School of Lost Borders, Big Pine,

CA.; Adjunct Faculty, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA.       

Where You Live

     Ventura, California

What Brought You To Pacifica?

      Many things, but mostly a desire to integrate Jungian Psychology with Ecopsychology. Before Pacifica, I’d studied a lot of ecopsychology, but nothing engaged me with the same force in the way that depth psychology has.

How Has Your Pacifica Degree Served You Professionally In Your Occupation/Vocation?

     My degree from Pacifica enabled me to secure my position as a tenured professor at California State University. It has also provided me with many opportunities to deepen my work as a nature-based therapist and guide for wilderness rites of passage.  I am certain that my work with the School of Lost Borders (www.schooloflostborders.com) has grown immensely due to my studies at Pacifica.

How Has Your Degree Served You Personally?

      My academic work at Pacifica served as a pivot for my own individuation. It took me back into analysis, deepened my relationship with self and nature, and fueled by passion for writing.  At Pacifica, I found my “voice” in my work, my writing, and in my daily life.

What Was The Meaningful Or Memorable Part Of The Pacifica Experience For You?

      So much… the community of learners, inspiring instructors, the rigor and discipline of a PhD program. Most of all, writing the dissertation. To embark upon such an huge task as the dissertation, with support from co-learners and faculty, was a transforming experience.

Dissertation Title

      Landscape Archetypes: Islands, Valleys, Mountains, and Deserts

Other Publications

Perluss, E. (2008). Climbing the alchemical mountain: A woman’s story of initiation. Psychological Perspectives. (51-1).

Perluss, E. (2006). Touching Earth, finding spirit: A passage into the symbolic landscape. Spring Journal. Issue 72, Part 2.

Perluss, E. (forthcoming). Using council to teach a graduate level human development course, the Council Practioner’s Center, LAUSD.

Perluss, E. (2005). Desert dreaming: Tracking psyche through the landscape. Psychological Perspectives. (48-2).

Areas of Interest

       Jungian Psychotherapy, Psyche in Nature, Ecopsychology, Wilderness Rites of Passage, Ritual and the use of Council in wilderness work and in the classroom.

Contact Information

     betsy@psycheandnature.com. (310) 367-6986. 1821 Evans Avenue, Ventura, CA 93001.  www.psycheandnature.com

Elizabeth Perluss,  Ph.D.