ABSTRACT
C. G. Jung visited America in September 1912, during which time he gave lectures at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He wanted to develop his theories of the collective unconscious and archetypes, and toward that end, he wished to analyze the dreams of African Americans. In October 1912, Jung traveled to D. C. Washington, where he remained for one month and conducted analysis with 15 African American male patients at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Jung has credited a woman patient referred to him by colleague Franz Riklin for strengthening his belief in the archetypal nature of the collective unconscious. The hospital medical records of the 15 patients whom Jung saw are unavailable since patient records during that time were sometimes poorly maintained, especially for the mentally ill. The intergenerational trauma affecting African American men, caused by American slavery, has proven devastating and enduring to his well-being and therefore to the African American family structure.
