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Technology and the Silicon Psyche:
Depth Psychology not only examines the individual psyche, but the psyche of cultures, subcultures, and the world. When I practice psychotherapy in a region, it is important for me to absorb the regional psyche from the ground up. From 2001-2006 I lived in Hollywood, and a good portion of those years were spent transfixed in the archetypes of old Hollywood juxtaposed with the streets I walked (yes, some people do walk in LA) and the people I met, especially therapy clients. 
Now I’ve gone from the land of celluloid to the land of silicon. The psychic landscape in Silicon Valley is as similar and at the same time as different to that of Hollywood as the natural and architectural landscapes are. I grew up in the Bay Area, and although they were calling it Silicon Valley by the time I left for college, it was during my absence that the region utterly transformed into the technology axis that it is today. Both places are surreal and larger than life.I used to marvel as I drove by Nickelodeon,the Church of Scientology compounds, Paramount, and Disney. Now I marvel driving by the Googleplex, Ebay, and Adobe. Both of these strange concrete jungles are ringed with mountains that constantly remind of and beckon toward the natural world -to those who remember to look up and out.
The Silicon Psyche struggles to resolve itself and balance out technology and nature, as person after person wakes up and realizes that just because they are the best and the brightest doesn’t mean they have to kill themselves in the process. Tensions of the work world are lessened by the tapestry of thought, culture, art, nature, and play that draws and keeps folks here. The strength of the region is in adaptability, and we must apply this to new ways to revision and reprogram our families, jobs, lives, free time, and habits so that we feel that our lives are our own and that it is possible to thrive here. Rather than give up who we are, we weave our unique personalities, sensibilities, and beliefs into the way we do business and run families. The resources are available. Rather than give up when the going gets tough, we can diagnose, repair, and reboot.
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The Silicon Psyche is has lots of memory and a fast processor. A good operating system, unfortunately, is still under development. Confusion arises in the never-ending struggle to juggle our precious resources: time, money, and love. The shadow side of innovation is unhealthy competition, breeding envy and resentment. The constant feeling of trying to get in on the ground floor of something, and the inevitable byproduct-feeling you’ve missed the boat, grinds on the soul. Astronomical salaries get sucked away into a high cost of living. We are surrounded by people who are too smart for their own good, inevitably forgetting to care for the self and the soul. We are constantly downloading new and confusing information about the world around us that contradicts what we thought to be true, causing varying levels of interference, from bugs and dysfunction to total system failure. 
