Rose Yenko on how changes within oneself ripples to the outside world

79-year old Rose Marie Yenko is vibrant, warm, full of wisdom, who many women look up to as a mentor to help them become their most authentic selves. As an Elder and Past Chair Emeritus of the Carl Jung Circle Center, Inc., Mover of the Depth Institute Asia, and a psychotherapist and Organizational Development Consultant, Rose has spent the past 50 years both learning and teaching in the field of psychology. She Talks Asia chats with Rose to talk about defining decades, best advice she’s heard, and the beauty of your senior years. 

What do you do for a living, and what are the things that make you feel more alive?

I am a psychotherapist, working with adults and couples, and very much engaged with the advocacy for spreading Jungian and Depth Psychology in the country. Through the Carl Jung Circle Center (CJCC), and its formal learning arm, Depth Institute Asia (DIA).

I feel most alive being in our Jungian and Depth classes—listening, engaging, teaching, preparing, designing, being in deep conversation with my family and with my Jungian community. Also being a recipient of the joys of nature, the singing of the birds, the views of a big full moon, the flowers blooming in my Taw-hay home, a strong breeze, the green of plants and trees, a beautiful horizon and sky, and the fresh smell of grass. Lastly, being immersed in art and beauty – whether in galleries, books, shows and movies, homes and their design.

How old are you?

I am 79 years old

I am most known for my laughter!

I am most proud of my daughters, my granddaughters, and my work.

What do you think is the biggest challenge, and the best thing, about being your age?

The biggest challenge of my age is time. I still have many dreams and imaginations to manifest and make real. 

The best thing about my age is I am in a place where I see one dream becoming a lived reality.

What has/have been the most defining decade(s) of your life, and how did it contribute to who you are today?

As an almost 80 year old woman, the eight decades of my life have been tremendous learning experiences.

The first 20 years was learning personal autonomy, power, agency, and being aware of world and international affairs.

The next 10 years (late 1960s to 1970s) was studying psychology, and learning about the world, immersed in travel both in our country, and the big world outside of it.

My 40s (late 1970s to 1980s) was about applying psychology in change management interventions for big and small organizations, private and public, and responding to the assassination of Ninoy Aquino and its unfolding effect in our country.

My 50s (late 80’s to 90’s) saw changes that were the aftermath of my father’s death, while being engaged with the Evelio B. Javier Foundation, starting Jung summer classes at Ateneo de Manila, doing a major OD intervention for a top Philippine company, and rallying and pushing for changes in the PNP, through Zonta Makati and Citizens Action Against Crime.

My 60s, (the late 90s to 2007) transitioned to a more contained and slower paced life. Focused on psychotherapy practice and bringing Jungian Psychology out of the academic setting, and into the public arena. Worked with Dido Villasor, Sophie Sim Bate and Bernie Nepomuceno, better known as the four Friends of Jung (FoJ), and started offering public workshops and organized Jungian study groups.

The next two decades (2007 to present) was when we organized the Carl Jung Circle Center, and tended the community, its growth, its public offerings, its creative endeavors. In 2021, started the ground for making Depth Institute of Asia a reality. 

A shift of energies and focus, from engaging with the external world, to engaging with the inner world. Nevertheless, the view that as one creates changes within oneself, this ripples to the outside world. And the view that Jungian and Depth Psychology has a perspective that can contribute to humanity.

What are the best pieces of life advice you have ever received?

From my elders: Money does not grow on trees.

From my father: It does not matter who they are. We all are made of flesh and

bones. (I can see him visually holding one arm, and pinching his

flesh.)

From Father Bulatao, my mentor: When working with someone, what are the constructs in his head? That is his reality. You do not change it. You work with it.

From Carl Jung: We have an Unconscious. (And that made all the difference in my life).

From Kathrin Asper: Learn from fairy tales.

From Jean Houston: We are bigger and more than who we think we are.

From Steve Aizenstat: Be curious. Tap into your imaginal life.

Who are the women you admire most and how have they helped shape your life?

Oriana Fallaci was THE woman foreign correspondent in the 70s. She was an inspiration. She had made breakthrough interviews with the political leaders of that time: Henry Kissinger, the Shah of Iran, Yasir Arafat, Indira Gandhi, and others. I wanted to follow in her footsteps. 

Another woman I look up to is my aunt Emma Jaranilla, a woman who was both genteel and independent. She remained single, but her spirit was a beautiful combination of Eros and Logos. She was one of the earliest women drivers in our country. She took up Automotive Repair and for over 30 years, she taught at Philippine Women’s College.

#STAGenerations