Jung and Jungian Therapy

The psychologist C.G. Jung developed forms of therapy that still thrive today, many years after Jung lived and explored the psyche.

What could possibly account for this continuing popularity?

Here are a few thoughts about why so many continue to seek out Jungian therapy:

Soul

Jung puts the human soul at the center of his psychology. We call therapy “psychotherapy” because it’s a way of healing the psyche. Psyche means soul in the Greek language. But many psychologists today work only with behaviors and thoughts. The psyche or soul is completely left out of therapy.

People today still feel the reality of the psyche—it lives and moves in their dreams, feelings, relationships, work, experiences of nature, spirituality, and creative imagination. The soul doesn’t go away, even if many psychologists today ignore it.

Individuation

Jung sees therapy as a way to facilitate what he calls individuation. Individuation is a living process of transformation that each person longs for. To individuate is to become who you already are, deep inside, but have not yet become in your outer life. Jungian psychotherapy nourishes this individuation process. It removes blocks to the process and provides the support of a healing relationship with the therapist.

Dreams

Dreams are also important in Jungian therapy, and dreamwork continues to interest many people. When I first entered my own psychotherapy with a Jungian analyst, I was amazed to see dreams pour out of me night after night. This experience convinced me that dreams meant something. They have been incredibly important to my individuation.

Relationship

Jung always emphasizes that the center of therapy is the healing relationship between the therapist and the patient. Both people become involved in a process that is guided by the psyche. And both people end up transformed through this process. Jung was ahead of his time in recognizing this—only recently have other methods of psychoanalysis come to similar conclusions.

Imagination and Creativity

Jungian therapy often includes the creative imagination, which many people enjoy. For example, Jung developed a method called active imagination. Active imagination means actively playing in a creative way with an image or a feeling or something that happened in a dream. Some people like to write out dialogues with different aspects of their personality. Others paint, or draw, or journal, or sculpt, or take photos.

Jungian Therapy in the Scheme of Things

Jung was originally part of Sigmund Freud’s movement of psychoanalysis. But the two men had differing visions of psychoanalysis, and Jung separated from Freud’s movement and developed his own way of thinking about analysis and therapy. Eventually training centers began training people to do Jungian analysis. Jung called his theories “analytical psychology.”

Today Jung’s tradition continues to shed light on the soul, on dreams, relationships, society, the earth, and individuation. It also pays attention to new discoveries in psychology and psychoanalysis. It grows richer and more and more helpful to those who seek therapists who actively tend to the soul and its deepest life.

Schedule a Phone Consultation

If you’ve been thinking of trying Jungian therapy, please call or email me. I work in different ways with different clients, because your needs are my first priority. I would enjoy speaking with you about your hopes for an experienced therapist who can help you in whatever place you find yourself at this moment.

Therapy starts with a no-charge 20-minute phone consultation. We’ll talk about sessions, fees, and insurance and decide whether to meet for a first session. Please contact me so that we can set up a time to talk. I look forward to hearing from you.