Biography
An alumna of Pacifica Graduate Institute, having attended in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, Marina has studied with the “greats’ of depth psychology including Marion Woodman, James Hillman, Robert Johnson, David Miller, James Hollis, Lionel Corbett, Ginette Paris etc. Over the last thirty years, she has added training and certification in family systems, life coaching, as well working with the dying as a death doula, and with interfaith couples using her training in interfaith Spiritual Direction.
From early teens, she has been drawn to esoteric studies and has gathered wisdom from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Celtic and indigenous teachings including Hermetic and Kabalistic studies. Respecting synchronicity and the interweaving of fate and choice, she was also drawn to Western and Eastern divination systems. She approaches these systems in a similar way to dream work, where images are honored from an imaginal perspective honoring both the conscious, personal sub-conscious, and the collective unconscious of our shared archetypes.
Having lived in Europe and the U.S. and worked with people across the economic and cultural spectrum has given her a wide view and keen awareness into the universality of human concerns. Clients describe her as insightful, wise, present, deeply perceptive, and someone who quickly and adeptly arrives at solutions, while reframing situations to find possibility, healing, and meaning.
Institut Le Rosey, Rolle, Switzerland. 1969-1973.
Sorbonne Université, Paris, France. 1976. Certificat Supérieure de la Langue Française.
Scripps College, Claremont, CA. 1974-1977. B.A. Comparative Literature.
Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. 1987-1990. M.A. in Counseling Psychology.
Southern California Counseling Center, Los Angeles, CA. 1989. Certification in Family Systems.
The Chaplaincy Institute, an Interfaith Seminary, Berkeley, CA. 2015-2016. Completed training in Spiritual Direction.
Going With Grace, Los Angeles, CA. 2022-2023. Death Doula Training and Certification.
Education:
Humanity is at a turning point, and we are ‘the transition team.” We are invited to our next evolution, an evolution in consciousness. Peace and the health of our world depends on a willingness to heal ourselves and find a deeper and more expansive view of our purpose and potential, both individually, and as part of Humanity.
Until I was 32, I had experiences working both in a traditional work setting, as well as being self-employed. Though I had a strong education, I spent my 20’s looking for where I belonged in the workplace. This ended up being a gift, though at the time, I simply felt frustrated not knowing where I really fit and what greater mission I could serve. I am very grateful for these exploratory years as they gave important insight into what I would later encounter in the lives of my clients. I understood, first- hand, the workplace dynamics, and frustrations, as well as wins they often experienced.
Always, I felt I was meant for something, but until my own therapist suggested I consider psychology as a career goal, strangely it had not occurred to me. I had been reading Jung since my late teens, so a school that taught depth psychology was an obvious and perfect choice, where my interest in symbols, mythology, and spirituality were honored and given room to grow and find a context. I have been extremely privileged and grateful for the opportunity to study with the brilliant luminaries of depth psychology.
More personally, I have been married, divorced, and a single mother. I am blessed to have three adult children who are each uniquely talented. I have lived in Europe and the U.S. and have had experience in both the most privileged as well as the more marginalized and under privileged segments of society. The gift of these experiences has been a broad and deep view of our human condition, our differences, and our oneness.
In her own words...
