12-Step Program for Men

Denovus Insights specializes in helping men—all men—restore a sense of meaning in their lives. Men everywhere are looking for practical ways to live a more meaningful way. The purpose of the program is to restore the roots of the masculine psyche and thereby help men become better spouses, fathers, sons, and friends. Most importantly, the program is based on several psychological and philosophical ideas, which give rise to both a pragmatic approach and visionary perspective. Each interactive session (two-hours) builds on the previous one and culminates in a seven-day retreat. Think of it as a cohort of camaraderie.

1. Reveille

Session one serves as a call to action and turns to the symbolism of reveille, the bugle call that announces the new day in military tradition. Dr. Laughlin introduces several key ideas while providing an overview of the 12-step program and follow-on retreat and seminar.

2. The Wisdom-Teachers

In this session, Dr. Laughlin provides an overview of the Wisdom-Teachers, whose ideas he discusses and applies throughout the program. Figures mentioned include, among others, the Stoics, Jesus of Nazareth, Francis Bacon, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Carl Jung. The Wisdom-Teachers come from various religious, philosophical, and secular backgrounds.

3. The Myth of the Hero

Dr. Laughlin explores the myth of the hero, which Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell popularized. Dr. Laughlin suggests that men can apply the monomyth and its cyclical model to create an orienting function for their lives.

4. Carl Jung: The Essentials

The fourth session provides an overview of the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung and the essential ideas of his psychology. Dr. Laughlin discusses the concept of the collective unconscious, archetypes, complexes, dreams, typology, and individuation.

5. The Waste Land: Beyond Meaning and Value

This session borrows from a metaphor found in the Grail Legend which Dr. Laughlin uses to describe what he considers a current crisis in masculine psychology.  Dr. Laughlin suggests that the western male psyche suffers from an Amfortas wound (i.e., Fisher King), which has taken a toll on the spirit of modern man and has created a figurative Waste Land. Dr. Laughlin also underscores how the functions of thinking and feeling work in concert to discriminate meaning and assign value to things and concepts.

6. The Parzival Saga: Part I

Dr. Laughlin discusses the story of Parzival/Parsifal/Percival and the knight’s search for the Holy Grail. He encourages men to use the Parsifal legend to orient their own lives. Dr. Laughlin also reviews several variants of the story including the works of Chrétien de Troyes and Wolfram Eschenbach.

7. The Parzival Saga: Part II

Dr. Laughlin further elaborates on the meaning of the Parsifal story and how men can use its core tenets as guiding principles for their lives.

8. Masculine Psychology and the Anima

One of the most important areas of the personal development of men is their ability to develop healthy and positive relationships with women. The Anima is a theoretical functional complex that is innate to the male psyche and has contrasexual qualities, which appear to consciousness as a female “soul-mage.” The Anima is the mediatrix of the unconscious in the male psyche.

9. Katabasis: Journey to Hell

The session focuses on the katabasis or “down-going.” The katabasis motif describes a nekyia, an introversion into the deeper layers of the unconscious or put differently, a descent to hell. Dr. Laughlin discusses the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and his descent into the underworld to elucidate “why Jesus had to go to hell.” Dr. Laughlin also explores other katabasis stories.

10. Symbols of Individuation: Intimations of a purposeful life

Dr. Laughlin subsequently turns to Jung’s principle of individuation—the process of becoming a distinct personality over a lifetime. Dr. Laughlin also cites multiple examples about what it means to be an individual and why culture should honor the sovereignty of the individual rather than demand he conform to collective ideas and popular social movements.

11. Rites and Rituals

In this session, Dr. Laughlin reviews a few rites and rituals that men can practically apply to their lives. The session covers some important topics including, but not limited to, dreams, active imagination, and typology.

12. The New Men

The concluding session addresses the Roman tradition of the homines novi or new men, which refers to men who were the first in their families to serve in the Roman Senate. To become a new man, one needs to earn his life rather than let it be given to him. The man in the arena fights based on his abilities and he overcomes for what he lacks through will and wisdom and grit and grace.  Dr. Laughlin encourages each cohort to become “new men.”