Analytical psychology (sometimes analytic psychology), also called Jungian psychology, is a school of psychotherapy which originated in the ideas of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist. It emphasizes the importance of the individual psyche and the personal quest for wholeness.
Important concepts in Jung's system are individuation, symbols, the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious, archetypes, complexes, the persona, the shadow, the anima and animus, and the self.
Jung's theories have been investigated and elaborated by Toni Wolff, Marie-Louise von Franz, Jolande Jacobi, Aniela Jaffé, Erich Neumann, James Hillman, and Anthony Stevens.
Analytical psychology is distinct from psychoanalysis, which is a psychotherapeutic system created by Sigmund Freud.
Overview
Jung began his career as a psychiatrist in Zürich, Switzerland. There, he conducted research for the Word Association Experiment at the Burghölzli Clinic. Jung's research earned him a worldwide reputation and numerous honours, including an honorary degree from Clark University, Massachusetts, in 1904; another honorary degree from Harvard University in 1936; recognition from the University of Oxford and the University of Calcutta; and appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, England.
In 1907, Jung met Sigmund Freud in Vienna, Austria. For six years, the two scholars worked together, and in 1911, they founded the International Psychoanalytical Association,
of which Jung was the first president. However, early in the
collaboration, Jung observed that Freud would not tolerate ideas that
were different from his own. In 1912, Jung's Psychology of the Unconscious (Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido) was published (re-published as Symbols of Transformation
in 1952) (C.W. Vol. 5). The work's innovative ideas contributed to a
new foundation in psychology as well as the end of the Jung-Freud
friendship in 1913. The two scholars continued their work on personality
development independently: Jung's approach is called Analytical
Psychology (German: analytische Psychologie), and Freud's approach is referred to as the Psychoanalytic School (psychoanalytische Schule), which he founded.
Unlike most modern psychologists, Jung did not believe that experiments using natural science
were the only means to gain an understanding of the human psyche. He
saw as empirical evidence the world of dream, myth, and folklore as the
promising road to deeper understanding and meaning. That method's choice
is related with his choice of the object of his science. As Jung said,
"The beauty about the unconscious is that it is really unconscious." Hence, the unconscious is 'untouchable' by experimental researches, or indeed any possible kind of scientific or philosophical reach, precisely because it is unconscious.
Although the unconscious cannot be studied by using direct
approaches, it is, according to Jung at least, a useful hypothesis. His
postulated unconscious was quite different from the model that was
proposed by Freud, despite the great influence that the founder of psychoanalysis had on Jung. The most well-known difference is the assumption of the collective unconscious (see also Jungian archetypes),
although Jung's proposal of collective unconscious and archetypes was
based on the assumption of the existence of psychic (mental) patterns.
These patterns include conscious contents—thoughts, memories, etc.—from
life experience. They are common for all human beings. His proof of the
vast collective unconscious was his concept of synchronicity, that inexplicable, uncanny connectedness that we all share.
The overarching goal of Jungian psychology is the attainment of self through individuation.
Jung defines "self" as the "archetype of wholeness and the regulating
center of the psyche". Central to this process is the individual's
encounter with his/her psyche and the bringing of its elements into
consciousness. Humans experience the unconscious through symbols
encountered in all aspects of life: in dreams, art, religion, and the
symbolic dramas we enact in our relationships and life pursuits.
Essential to this numinous
encounter is the merging of the individual's consciousness with the
collective consciousness through this symbolic language. By bringing
conscious awareness to what is not conscious, unconscious elements can
be integrated with consciousness when they "surface".
"Neurosis" results from a disharmony between the individual's (un)consciousness and his higher Self. The psyche is a self-regulating adaptive system.
Humans are energetic systems, and if the energy gets blocked, the
psyche gets stuck, or sick. If adaptation is thwarted, the psychic
energy stops flowing, and regresses. This process manifests in neurosis
and psychosis. Human psychic contents are complex, and deep. They can
schism, and split, and form complexes that take over one's personality.
Jung proposed that this occurs through maladaptation to one's external
or internal realities. The principles of adaptation, projection, and
compensation are central processes in Jung's view of psyche's ability to
adapt.
The aim of psychotherapy is to assist the individual in
reestablishing a healthy relationship to the unconscious: neither
flooded by it (characteristic of psychosis, such as schizophrenia) or out of balance in relationship to it (as with neurosis, a state that results in depression, anxiety, and personality disorders).
To undergo the individuation process, individuals must be open to
the parts of themselves beyond their own ego. The modern individual
grows continually in psychic awareness through attention to dreams, the
exploration of religion and spirituality, and by questioning the
assumptions of the operant societal worldview, rather than just blindly
living life in accordance with dominant norms and assumptions.
Fundamentals
Unconscious
The basic assumption is that the personal unconscious is a potent part — probably the more active part — of the normal human psyche. Reliable communication between the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche is necessary for wholeness.
Also crucial is the belief that dreams
show ideas, beliefs, and feelings that individuals are not readily
aware of but need to be, and that such material is expressed in a
personalized vocabulary of visual metaphors.
Things 'known but unknown' are contained in the unconscious, and dreams
are one of the main vehicles for the unconscious to express them.
Analytical psychology distinguishes between a personal unconscious and a collective unconscious. The collective unconscious contains archetypes common to all human beings. That is, individuation
may bring to surface symbols that do not relate to the life experiences
of a single person. This content is more easily viewed as answers to
the more fundamental questions of humanity: life, death, meaning,
happiness, fear. Among these more spiritual concepts may arise and be
integrated into the personality.
Collective unconscious
Jung's
concept of the collective unconscious has often been misunderstood. To
understand this concept, it is essential to understand Jungian archetypes.
Archetypes
The use of psychological archetypes was advanced by Jung in 1919. In
Jung's psychological framework, archetypes are innate, universal
prototypes for ideas and may be used to interpret observations. A group
of memories and interpretations associated with an archetype is a
complex, e.g. a mother complex associated with the mother archetype.
Jung treated the archetypes as psychological organs, analogous to
physical ones in that both are morphological givens that arose through evolution.
Archetypes are collective as well as individual, and can grow on
their own and present themselves in a variety of creative ways. Jung, in
his book Memories, Dreams, Reflections,
states that he began to see and talk to a manifestation of anima and
that she taught him how to interpret dreams. As soon as he could
interpret on his own, Jung said that she ceased talking to him because
she was no longer needed.
Self-realization and neuroticism
An innate need for self-realization leads people to explore and
integrate these disowned parts of themselves. This natural process is
called individuation, or the process of becoming an individual.
According to Jung, self-realization is attained through
individuation. His is an adult psychology, divided into two distinct
tiers. In the first half of our lives, we separate from humanity. We
attempt to create our own identities (“I”, “myself”). This is why there
is such a need for young men to be destructive, and can be expressed as
animosity from teens directed at their parents. Jung also said we have a
sort of "second puberty" that occurs between ages 35 and 40: outlook shifts from emphasis on materialism, sexuality, and having children to concerns about community and spirituality.
In the second half of our lives, humans reunite with the human
race. They become part of the collective once again. This is when adults
start to contribute to humanity (volunteer time, build, garden, create
art, etc.) rather than destroy. They are also more likely to pay
attention to their unconscious and conscious feelings. Young men rarely
say "I feel angry" or "I feel sad." This is because they have not yet
rejoined the human collective experience, commonly reestablished in
their older, wiser years, according to Jung. A common theme is for young
rebels to "search" for their true selves and realize that a
contribution to humanity is essentially a necessity for a whole self.
Jung proposes that the ultimate goal of the collective
unconscious and self-realization is to pull us to the highest
experience. This, of course, is spiritual.
If a person does not proceed toward self-knowledge, neurotic symptoms may arise. Symptoms are widely defined, including, for instance, phobias, psychosis, and depression.
Shadow
The shadow is an unconscious complex
defined as the repressed, suppressed or disowned qualities of the
conscious self. According to Jung, the human being deals with the
reality of the shadow in four ways: denial, projection, integration
and/or transmutation.
According to analytical psychology, a person's shadow may have both
constructive and destructive aspects. In its more destructive aspects,
the shadow can represent those things people do not accept about
themselves. For instance, the shadow of someone who identifies as being
kind may be harsh or unkind. Conversely, the shadow of a person who
perceives himself to be brutal may be gentle. In its more constructive
aspects, a person's shadow may represent hidden positive qualities. This
has been referred to as the "gold in the shadow". Jung emphasized the
importance of being aware of shadow material and incorporating it into
conscious awareness in order to avoid projecting shadow qualities on
others.
The shadow in dreams is often represented by dark figures of the same gender as the dreamer.
The shadow may also concern great figures in the history of human
thought or even spiritual masters, who became great because of their
shadows or because of their ability to live their shadows (namely, their
unconscious faults) in full without repressing them.
Anima and animus
Jung identified the anima as being the unconscious feminine component of
men and the animus as the unconscious masculine component in women.
However, this is rarely taken as a literal definition: many modern-day
Jungian practitioners believe that every person has both an anima and an
animus. Jung stated that the anima and animus act as guides to the
unconscious unified Self, and that forming an awareness and a connection
with the anima or animus is one of the most difficult and rewarding
steps in psychological growth. Jung reported that he identified his
anima as she spoke to him, as an inner voice, unexpectedly one day.
Often, when people ignore the anima or animus complexes, the
anima or animus vies for attention by projecting itself on others. This
explains, according to Jung, why we are sometimes immediately attracted
to certain strangers: we see our anima or animus in them. Love at first
sight is an example of anima and animus projection. Moreover, people who
strongly identify with their gender role (e.g. a man who acts
aggressively and never cries) have not actively recognized or engaged
their anima or animus.
Jung attributes human rational thought to be the male nature,
while the irrational aspect is considered to be natural female (rational
being defined as involving judgment, irrational being defined as
involving perceptions). Consequently, irrational moods are the progenies
of the male anima shadow and irrational opinions of the female animus
shadow.
Wise old man / woman
"After the confrontation with the soul-image the appearance of the old wise man, the personification of the spiritual principle, can be distinguished as the next milestone of inner development." As archetypes of the collective unconscious, such figures can be seen as, "in psychological terms, a symbolic personification of the Self."
Psychoanalysis
Analysis is a way to experience and integrate the unknown material.
It is a search for the meaning of behaviours, symptoms and events. Many
are the channels to reach this greater self-knowledge. The analysis of
dreams is the most common. Others may include expressing feelings in art
pieces, poetry or other expressions of creativity.
Giving a complete description of the process of dream
interpretation and individuation is complex. The nature of the
complexity lies in the fact that the process is highly specific to the
person who does it.
While Freudian psychoanalysis
assumes that the repressed material hidden in the unconscious is given
by repressed sexual instincts, analytical psychology has a more general
approach. There is no preconceived assumption about the unconscious
material. The unconscious, for Jungian analysts, may contain repressed
sexual drives, but also aspirations, fears, etc.
Psychological types
Analytical psychology distinguishes several psychological types or temperaments.
According to Jung, the psyche is an apparatus for adaptation and
orientation, and consists of a number of different psychic functions.
Among these he distinguishes four basic functions:
- Sensation – Perception by means of the sense organs
- Intuition – Perceiving in unconscious way or perception of unconscious contents
- Thinking – Function of intellectual cognition; the forming of logical conclusions
- Feeling – Function of subjective estimation
Thinking and feeling functions are rational, while the sensation and intuition functions are irrational.
Note: There is ambiguity in the term 'rational' that Carl Jung
ascribed to the thinking/feeling functions. Both thinking and feeling
irrespective of orientation (i.e., introverted/extroverted)
employ/utilize/are directed by in loose terminology an underlying
'logical' IF-THEN construct/process (as in IF X THEN Y) in order to form
judgments. This underlying construct/process is not directly observable
in normal states of consciousness especially when engaged in
thoughts/feelings. It can be cognized merely as a concept/abstraction
during thoughtful reflection. Sensation and intuition are 'irrational'
functions simply because they do not employ the above-mentioned
underlying logical construct/process.
Complexes
Early in Jung's career he coined the term and described the concept of the "complex". Jung claims to have discovered the concept during his free association and galvanic skin response experiments. Freud obviously took up this concept in his Oedipus complex
amongst others. Jung seemed to see complexes as quite autonomous parts
of psychological life. It is almost as if Jung were describing separate
personalities within what is considered a single individual, but to
equate Jung's use of complexes with something along the lines of multiple personality disorder would be a step out of bounds.
Jung saw an archetype as always being the central organizing
structure of a complex. For instance, in a "negative mother complex,"
the archetype of the "negative mother" would be seen to be central to
the identity of that complex. This is to say, our psychological lives
are patterned on common human experiences. Jung saw the Ego
(which Freud wrote about in German literally as the "I", one's
conscious experience of oneself) as a complex. If the "I" is a complex,
what might be the archetype that structures it? Jung, and many Jungians,
might say "the hero," one who separates from the community to ultimately carry the community further.
Clinical theories
Jung's writings have been studied by people of many backgrounds and interests, including theologians, people from the humanities, and mythologists.
Jung often seemed to seek to make contributions to various fields, but
he was mostly a practicing psychiatrist, involved during his whole
career in treating patients. A description of Jung's clinical relevance
is to address the core of his work.
Jung started his career working with hospitalized patients with major mental illnesses, most notably schizophrenia.
He was interested in the possibilities of an unknown "brain toxin" that
could be the cause of schizophrenia. But the majority and the heart of
Jung's clinical career was taken up with what we might call today
individual psychodynamic psychotherapy, in gross structure very much in the strain of psychoanalytic practice first formed by Freud.
It is important to state that Jung seemed to often see his work
as not a complete psychology in itself but as his unique contribution to
the field of psychology. Jung claimed late in his career that only for
about a third of his patients did he use "Jungian analysis". For another
third, Freudian psychology seemed to best suit the patient's needs, and for the final third Adlerian analysis
was most appropriate. In fact, it seems that most contemporary Jungian
clinicians merge a developmentally grounded theory, such as Self psychology or Donald Winnicott's work, with the Jungian theories in order to have a "whole" theoretical repertoire for actual clinical work.
The "I" or Ego is tremendously important to Jung's clinical work. Jung's theory of etiology of psychopathology could almost be simplified to be stated as a too rigid conscious attitude towards the whole of the psyche. That is, a psychotic episode
can be seen from a Jungian perspective as the "rest" of the psyche
overwhelming the conscious psyche because the conscious psyche
effectively was locking out and repressing the psyche as a whole.
Post-Jungian approaches
Andrew Samuels
(1985) has distinguished three distinct traditions or approaches of
"post-Jungian" psychology – classical, developmental and archetypal.
Today there are more developments.
Classical
The classical approach tries to remain faithful to what Jung
proposed and taught in person, and in his 20-plus volumes of work.
Prominent advocates of this approach, according to Samuels (1985),
include Emma Jung (C.G. Jung's wife, who was an analyst in her own right), Marie-Louise von Franz, Joseph L. Henderson, Aniela Jaffé, Erich Neumann, Gerhard Adler and Jolande Jacobi.
Developmental
The
developmental approach is primarily associated with Erich Neumann
("Origins of Conscious" and "Origins of the Child".) Jung credited
Neumann as the student for advancing his (Jung's) theory into a
developmental model based on a mythological approach. He described
three broad myths:Creation, the Hero, and Transcendence. Expansion of
Jungian theory is also credited to Michael Fordham and his wife, Frieda
Fordham. It can be considered a bridge between traditional Jungian
analysis and Melanie Klein's object relations theory. Laings and Goodheart are also often mentioned. Samuels (1985) considers J. Redfearn, Richard Carvalho and himself (Andrew Samuels)
as representatives of the developmental approach. Samuels notes how
this approach differs from the classical by giving less emphasis to the
Self and more emphasis to the development of personality; he also notes
how, in terms of practice in therapy, it gives more attention to transference and counter-transference than either the classical or the archetypal approaches.
Archetypal
One archetypal approach, sometimes called "the imaginal school" by James Hillman,
was written about by him in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its
adherents, according to Samuels (1985), include Murray Stein, Rafael
Lopez-Pedraza and Wolfgang Giegerich. Thomas Moore
also was influenced by some of Hillman's work. Developed independently,
other psychoanalysts have created strong approaches to archetypal
psychology. Mythopoeticists and psychoanalysts such as Clarissa Pinkola Estés
who believes that ethnic and aboriginal people are the originators of
archetypal psychology and have long carried the maps for the journey of
the soul in their songs, tales, dream-telling, art and rituals; Marion Woodman
who proposes a feminist viewpoint regarding archetypal psychology. Some
of the mythopoetic/archetypal psychology creators either imagine the
Self not to be the main archetype of the collective unconscious as Jung
thought, but rather assign each archetype equal value.
Others, who are modern progenitors of archetypal psychology (such as
Estés), think of the Self as the thing that contains and yet is suffused
by all other archetypes, each giving life to the other.
Robert L. Moore
has explored the archetypal level of the human psyche in a series of
five books co-authored with Douglas Gillette, which have played an
important role in the men's movement
in the United States. Moore studies computerese so he uses a computer's
hard wiring (its fixed physical components) as a metaphor for the
archetypal level of the human psyche. Personal experiences influence the
access to the archetypal level of the human psyche, but personalized
ego consciousness can be likened to computer software.
Process-oriented psychology
Process-oriented psychology (also called Process work) is associated with the Zurich-trained Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell. Process work developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was originally identified as a "daughter of Jungian psychology".
Process work stresses awareness of the "unconscious" as an ongoing flow
of experience. This approach expands Jung's work beyond verbal
individual therapy to include body experience, altered and comatose
states as well as multicultural group work.
