Mapping the Inner Masculine: A Workshop on Animus Recognition & Integration
Every woman carries a hidden masculine within her psyche.
Ignore him, and he’ll run your relationships from the shadows.
Recognize him, and he’ll become your greatest ally.
by Lyna Tevenaz Jones, M.A., ACMHC
The Animus: the inner masculine that every woman carries within her
The Animus is a central concept in Jungian psychology.
It is not an external man, nor a simple memory of the father or past partners—but an internal, autonomous, and evolving figure, representing the masculine polarity of the female psyche.
Just as men carry within themselves an image of the Feminine (the Anima), women are inhabited, often unknowingly, by an inner masculine presence: the Animus.
It speaks to her.
It pushes her, slows her down, inspires her, criticizes her, guides her…
And as long as it remains unconscious, it acts through her—without her being able to grasp its mechanisms.
Why work with the Animus?
Because not doing so means the animus remaining trapped in your unconscious - it rules your life from the inside out, inserting itself into relationships, work, and hinders individuation.
Working with the Animus means:
Regaining your psychic authority
Breaking out of the cycle of romantic projections
Accessing structured and aligned creativity
Reconnecting with your discernment, your inner compass
Transcending paternal wounds without denying them
What to expect…
This will be a psychoeducational workshop, not a guided visualization session - we won’t be doing a guided imagination together.
Instead, we’ll deepen our understanding of the symbolic psyche, explore how the brain and nervous system respond to imagery, and teach you how to begin forming an inner relationship with your child self using the power of imaginal work.
Theoretical Foundations
My approach to working with the Animus is both clinical and symbolic.
It involves three main steps:
- Recognizing the manifestations of the Animus in your life (thoughts, attractions, blockages)
- Mapping its dominant forms (via stages, mythical figures, archetypes)
- Gently integrating it—through inner dialogue, active imagination, embodiment
This process doesn't happen overnight - it is a lifelong relationship, and it is profoundly transformative.
When a woman reclaims her Animus, she stops looking outside for what she can finally embody within.
During the workshop, we will learn to create a map of our Animus to understand its imprint, its origins, and how it was shaped.
Mapping out the Animus: an inner mirror
As long as it remains unconscious, the Animus acts as an invisible force: it can support or sabotage, inspire or hinder. Mapping allows you to see it as it manifests today, identify its origins, and pave the way for its integration.
The Animus can be mapped much like a mental or symbolic map: it involves visually representing the different facets, origins, and influences of the Animus in your early life and creating a timeline of the Animus evolution and psychic construction.
That process help the Animus integration more concrete rather than invisible, abstract, and internal.
Why map out the Animus?
Because as long as we don't see it, we experience it often in the form of projections.
By constructing a map, we transform an unconscious, abstract concept into consciousness.
The process of creating our own map of our Animus enables us to break away from repetitive relational patterns by understanding the root of the Animus projections within our psyche.
Mapping the Animus is a clinical and symbolic tool that allows us to give form to this invisible being that the Animus.
It is a process that involves:
- Identifying one's origins
- Observing its current manifestations in one's inner life and relationships
- Situating one's stage of development according to Emma Jung's model
- Distinguishing one's allied and shadow aspects
Integrating the Animus
Integrating the Animus isn't just about "accepting your inner masculine" or "balancing your energies."
It's a slow, demanding, and deeply transformative process that also involves confronting the Animus as it is—not as you want it to be.
One of the most powerful steps in integrating the Animus is the withdrawal of projections: the very quality idealized in a man—or forcefully rejected—points to a part of self still in exile.
The Animus becomes conscious when we act out the qualities it carries.
About me
Lyna Tevenaz Jones is a psychodynamic and Jungian-informed therapist specializing in depth work with adults and adolescents. In my clinical work, integrate attachment theory, internal family systems, archetypal psychology, and affective neuroscience. My thesis research explored how symbolic imagery and active imagination can restore connection to the Self in the healing of childhood trauma and attachment wounds.
🔍 What You’ll Learn
The Unconscious speaks in symbol, not logic
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
Understand how the father wound shapes Animus development
Recognize the link between early attachment and adult relational patterns
Identify how unintegrated Animus energy shows up in inner dialogue, romantic projections, and blocks to creative authority
Receive practical tools (journaling, active imagination, reflection exercises) to begin reclaiming the internal masculine
Leave with clarity on how to continue the work of Animus integration
Active Imagination & the Inner Child: A Depth Psychological and Neurobiological Approach
Join this 1-hour lecture-style workshop that presents the key findings of my thesis on the transformative role of imagery, memory, and symbolic imagination in the restoration of the inner child’s self-concept.
Rooted in Jungian theory and supported by neuroscience, this presentation bridges clinical insight with symbolic depth.
You’ll learn:
- The structure and purpose of active imagination
- How imagery impacts emotional memory and identity
- The role of the limbic system, autobiographical memory, and the Default Mode Network
- Why symbolic experiences can rewire emotional patterns more effectively than logic or insight alone
Refund policy for sessions
Please note that all registrations are final and non-refundable.
Depth psychology values commitment and containment. When someone signs up, it’s often part of a deeper, unconscious process—a psyche-level contract. A no-refund policy reinforces the idea that once a commitment is made, the work begins, even if resistance or ambivalence surfaces later.
No changes, transfers, or cancellations will be accepted once you have registered. In the unlikely event that the workshop is canceled, you will be contacted via email and offered an alternative of equivalent value.
For any questions regarding our policies, feel free to reach out at lyna@womenofdepthpsychology.com.
Early Bird Pricing – Limited Time
Join the live lecture + receive the recording and PDF guide
Price: $55
Early registration gives you access to the full live session, the replay, and a downloadable PDF with prompts and guidance to deepen your personal practice.
What you will receive:
- Recording of the workshop
- 6-months recording access
- PDF Guide to Active Imagination with prompt
- A free copy of my thesis
Taking good care of your psyche and your body.
This lecture is intended for educational and self-reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for individual therapy or professional mental health treatment.
By participating, you acknowledge that any emotional material that may arise is your responsibility to process, and it is strongly recommended that you engage in ongoing personal therapy for deeper integration. While care has been taken to create a safe and thoughtful experience, I am not liable for any psychological discomfort or triggering that may occur. Please honor your own boundaries and seek support from a licensed therapist if needed.
The unconscious is not neutral; it carries both light and shadow, and engaging with it requires reverence, humility, and a grounded internal container. For this reason, we will not be practicing active imagination together live.