The Assisi Institute

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 Located in the beautiful coastal community of Mystic, CT,  the Assisi Institute is an educational center dedicated to the study and application of Archetypal Pattern Analysis. Founded in 1989 by Michael Conforti, Ph.D., the  Institute has become an international focal point for leading thinkers and groundbreaking conversation on the relationship between psyche and matter, the work of C.G. Jung, discoveries in the new sciences, and the eternal truth of the world's great wisdom traditions.
Our faculty and student body consist of pioneers from disciplines as diverse as Jungian psychology, biophysics, theology, government, education, cinema, and the arts. This prolific group has published more than 3,000 books and articles, and continues to hold academic and governmental positions around the world.

Contact us at:
E-mail:  assisi@together.net 
Phone:  (860) 415-5004
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Loralee Scott-Conforti, MFA
Executive Director

Loralee Scott- Conforti, MFA, is an artist, activist, author and educator with over two decades of leadership experience focused on creative transformation and innovative leadership. Her graduate studies focused on the interdisciplinary links between psychology, philosophy, art history, brain science, creativity theory, theology and dance pedagogy. As an educator and consultant she is most interested in developing methodologies which are informed by a holistic approach to learning, and which are expressed via a creative and embodied communication of ideas and narratives that are intended to catalyze transformation.      

Her most recent body of artistic work is focused on the theme of "kintsukuroi" meaning to be beautiful in the broken places as an embodied metaphor for the psychological process of moving forward after trauma. Her past work includes a dance theater production focused on the global issue of human trafficking which tells the true story of a human trafficking victim as reported by Pulitzer Prize Winning author, Nicholas Kristoff  in "Half The Sky."  This original production, "SoulCry!"  toured colleges and universities and resulted in the passage of anti-trafficking legislation as a result of Loralee's collaboration with the Troy, NY City Council. Loralee's work around this issue is featured as part of a compilation of research included  in an academic text published by Routledge: "Grief and The Expressive Arts" authored by Robert Neimeyer and Barbara Thompson.  

 A certified MBTI Consultant and sought after public speaker, Loralee is currently consulting with Procter and Gamble in developing training programs to catalyze breakthrough creativity and organizationally sustainable transformation. Loralee will be a featured presenter for the International Association of Analytical Psychology's conference on Art and Psyche in Siracusa Italy this Fall. She has been a keynote presenter for the Pennsylvania Governor's Council, The Rhode Island Family Courts Anti-Trafficking Conference, the Unbound Washington, DC Anti-Trafficking Conference, the Journey Conference and many others. 

Dr. Michael Conforti, Ph.D.
Founder and Director

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Dr. Michael Conforti is a Jungian analyst and the Founder and Director of The Assisi Institute.  He has been a faculty member at the C.G. Jung Institute - Boston, the C.G Jung 
Foundation of New York, and for many years served as a Senior Associate faculty member in the Doctoral and Master's Programs in Clinical Psychology at Antioch New England.

A pioneer in the field of matter-psyche studies, Dr. Conforti is actively investigating the workings of archetypal fields and the relationship between Jungian psychology and the New Sciences. He has presented his work to a wide range of national and international audiences, including the C.G. Jung Institute - Zurich and Jungian organizations in Venezuela, Denmark, Italy and Canada. 

He is the author of Threshold Experiences: The Archetype of Beginnings (2007) and Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature and Psyche (2002). His articles have appeared in Psychological Perspectives, San Francisco Jung Library Journal, Roundtable Press, World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, and Spring Journal.

Dr. Conforti maintains a private practice in Mystic, CT and consults with individuals and corporations around the world.  He provides his insights as a sought-after consultant to businesses, government institutions, and the film industry. He has served as script consultant on the films Pride and Glory and Elvis Anabelle and is currently working on a script for a new TV series. He has also been asked to consult on the application of field theory to the understanding and resolution of international border disputes. He was selected by The Club of Budapest and the University of Potsdam to be part of a 20 member international team of physicists, biologists, and dynamical systems theorists to examine the role and influence of informational fields. He is a recipient of the Vision Award presented by the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.

Dr. Conforti is a Senior Fellow of the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland. He is currently working on a new book, Hidden Presence: Archetypes, Spells, Possessions and the Complex.
Dr. Conforti's Availability:
*Keynote Speaker
* On-site Consultations
*Phone Consultations
*Executive Mentoring
*Trainings (Individual and Staff)
*The Role of Initial Conditions in Forecasting the Future of a Project
*Generating Coherence in Teams and Project Initiatives
 
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Dr. Richard Ott, MD
Director of Studies

After completing his undergraduate work at Notre Dame, Dr. Ott graduated with honors (2nd in his class) from the University of Florida College of Medicine. He then began 6 years of training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. During his plastic surgery training, he was awarded first place for research by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and wrote a review book for plastic surgeons studying for their board exams. After completing his training at Stanford, Dr. Ott and his family returned to their hometown of Ft. Lauderdale where he has practiced since 1979.
 
Dr. Ott has served as President of the Broward County Medical Association (BCMA), President of the Caducean Society and Chief of Staff at Imperial Point Medical Center. During his tenure as an officer of the BCMA, he started a clinic for the homeless at the Salvation Army in Ft. Lauderdale and while president in 1992, organized the volunteer medical efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Andrew. More than 10,000 patients were given free medical care during this five-month effort. He also founded Interplast South, Inc. to provide free reconstructive plastic surgery to children in developing countries. His picture and accomplishments were added to the Wall of Fame at the University of Florida College of Medicine when he was recognized as an outstanding alumnus. He has also been a recipient of the highest award given by the Florida Medical Association.
 
After graduating from Notre Dame, Dr. Ott married Wanda, a Ft. Lauderdale native. They have two children, now married, who have given their parents three beautiful grandchildren. The Otts spend vacation time in their mountain home in North Carolina and visiting their children and grandchildren in California. For the past 25 years, Dr. Ott has developed a deep interest in the correlation between archetypal patterning and growing insights involving cosmology from the “new sciences” such as quantum physics, complexity and systems theory. Twenty years ago, after a profound  personal experience involving classical Jungian synchronicities, Dr. Ott discovered the work of the Assisi Institute and with his wife attended his first Assisi Conference in Assisi, Italy in July of 1996. He was among those to complete the first two year program in Archetypal Pattern Analysis and has remained as a participant and presenter for the program ever since. As a hobby, he collects seashells that demonstrate an algorithmic beauty which can be computer modeled by combining self enhancing feedback loops (activators) which evoke inhibitors (pairs of opposites) to produce stable patterns. Not unlike alchemy, he sees this as a metaphor for psyche’s inherent balancing mechanism.