James Hollis is an American Jungian psychoanalyst, author, and public speaker based in Washington, D.C. He holds degrees from Manchester College and Drew University. His career spanned 26 years of teaching Humanities before he trained as a Jungian psychoanalyst at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich. Hollis has held significant positions within Jungian organizations, including Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston and the Jung Society of Washington. He is also a Senior Training Analyst and holds emeritus status with the Philemon Foundation. Currently, he maintains a private practice and resides in Washington, D.C.

Hollis has authored seventeen books that delve into personal insights and Jungian analytical psychology. His work often addresses themes of mid-life transitions, masculinity, myth, the search for meaning, and understanding the darker aspects of the self. Critics have noted his direct, often challenging approach, which eschews simple reassurances in favor of a more profound engagement with psychological realities. His writings are recognized for their depth and their capacity to provoke deep reflection on the human condition, particularly in the context of modern life's distractions and the loss of traditional spiritual anchors.

Born in Springfield, Illinois, James Hollis pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Manchester College in 1962 and a PhD from Drew University in 1967. For the initial 26 years of his professional life, he dedicated himself to teaching Humanities at various academic institutions. Concurrently, between 1977 and 1982, he underwent training as a Jungian psychoanalyst at the esteemed C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. This dual path of academic and analytical development has informed his subsequent work.

Hollis has played a significant role in the leadership of several prominent Jungian organizations. He served for many years as the Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas, and later as the Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington (JSW) until 2019. His contributions also extend to training roles, as he has worked as a Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and as a Director of Training for the Philadelphia Jung Institute. He also holds the title of Vice-President Emeritus of the Philemon Foundation, an organization dedicated to the study of C.G. Jung's work.

James Hollis is the author of seventeen books that explore personal insights through the lens of Jungian analytical psychology. His works, such as "What Matters Most" and "Living Between Worlds," are characterized by a direct and often bracing style. Reviewers have noted that his approach eschews superficial self-help tropes, instead offering a profound examination of the human psyche and the search for meaning in contemporary life. Critics like Oliver Burkeman describe his work as a "bracing draught of reality" and a "wake-up call," appreciating its refusal to offer easy answers. Steven Gaydos, interviewing Hollis for Variety, highlights his "sage counseling" and "trademark bracing, no-punches-pulled observations" on modernity's challenges.

“our culture's treatment plans for the absence of a personal, intimate relationship with the gods are materialism, hedonism, narcissism and nationalism, as well as a coursing nostalgia for a world that never really existed. Our contemporary Odysseys are redirected to the Apple Store, the palliative pharmacy, or forays along the River Amazon Prime. Guided by Google, whereby all things are knowable, we wonder why we are so absent-spirited, so lost, and so adrift. We may say that these secular surrogates, these 'isms,' constitute our values, our de facto religions, those in which we most invest our energies. But we have to ask the obvious question, 'How well are they working for us?'”