Jungian Therapy or Jungian analysis

Jungian Therapy or Jungian analysis as it is also known, is a psychoanalytic approach that was developed by psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung. Along with Freud, Jung is considered one of the pioneers of deep psychology, especially of the unconscious mind.

Although Jung worked with Freud for some time, they parted ways due to different theories. While Freud claimed that dreams and the unconscious are personal things contained within an individual, Jung believed that the personal unconscious is just the top layer of the much deeper collective unconscious: the uncontrollable, inherited part of the human psyche that is made up of archetypes or patterns common to all humanity.

In Jungian therapy, these patterns can explain why we have habits that cannot be broken, such as addictions, depression, and anxiety. Therefore, the approach aims to analyze these archetypes in order to better understand the human being. Through the process of self-awareness, transformation, and actualization, Jungian Therapy can help people see what is out of balance in their psyche. This is to give you the ability to consciously make changes that will help you become more balanced and complete..

Contents

• Jung's archetypes
  • The maternal archetype
  • Manna
  • The shadow
  • Person
  • Anima and animus
• Introversion and extroversion
• The functions
• The Jungian Therapy method

Jung's archetypes

As mentioned above, a key aspect of Jungian psychotherapy is understanding the relationship between the individual and his psyche by bringing elements of it into consciousness. Jung stated that the unconscious is expressed through archetypes, which are projections according to him innate between cultures and universally recognized and understood. It is a way of organizing how human beings experience certain things and it is evidenced through symbols found in our dreams, religion, art, etc..

Throughout life, these inner archetypal expectations are expected to clash with other experiences in the world. This can lead to internal conflict through the inevitable defenses of the ego. Jung recognized that the ego must be freed from these disorders or complexes "so that people who lead a satisfying and meaningful life, in which their energy can be put to a more productive use in the service of life..

Although Jung believed that there was no limit to the number of archetypes that could exist, he identified five most important within all human beings..

The maternal archetype

All of our ancestors had mothers. We have evolved in an environment that has included a mother or a surrogate for her. We would never have survived without the connection to a caring person in our time as helpless infants. It is clear that we are "constructed" in a way that reflects our evolutionary environment: we come into this world ready to desire a mother, we seek her, recognize her and deal with her..

Thus, the mother archetype is an evolutionarily constituted ability aimed at recognizing the relationship of "motherhood." Jung establishes this as something abstract, although all of us project the archetype to the generality of the world and at the same time to particular people, usually our own mothers..

This archetype is symbolized by the primordial mother or "mother earth", by Eve and Mary in Western traditions, and by less personalized symbols such as the church, the nation, a forest or the ocean. According to Jung, someone whose mother has not satisfied the demands of the archetype, would perfectly become a person who seeks it through the church or by identifying with the "mother earth" or in meditation on the figure of Mary or in a life dedicated to the sea.

Manna

Jung's archetypes are not really biological elements, like Freud's instincts. They are more specific demands. For example, if one dreams of elongated things, Freud would suggest that they represent the phallus and consequently sex. Jung would propose a very different interpretation. Even dreaming about a penis does not necessarily imply sexual dissatisfaction..

It is curious that in primitive societies, phallic symbols usually do not refer to sex at all. They usually symbolize manna or spiritual power. These symbols are displayed when it is necessary to implore the spirits for a better harvest of corn, or to increase fishing or to help someone. The relationship between penis and strength, between semen and seed, between fertility and fertilization are part of most cultures.

The shadow

This archetype includes sex and instincts. It derives from a pre-human and animal past, when our concerns were limited to survival and reproduction, from when we were not aware of ourselves as subjects..

Here is also the "dark side" of the Self or our most negative and diabolical part. This assumes that the shadow is amoral; neither good nor bad, as in animals. An animal is capable of warmly caring for its offspring, while also being a ruthless killer for food. But he doesn't choose any of them. It just does what it does. Is innocent". But from our human perspective, the animal world seems brutal, inhuman; so the shadow becomes something related to a "garbage can" of those parts of us that we do not want to admit.

Person

The person represents our public image. The word, obviously, is related to the term person and personality and comes from the Latin that means mask. Therefore, the person is the mask that we put on before going out into the external world. Although it begins as an archetype, over time we assume it, becoming the part of us most distant from the collective unconscious.

At its best, it constitutes the "good impression" that we all want to make by fulfilling the roles that society demands of us. But, at its worst, it can be confused even by ourselves, by our own nature. Sometimes we come to believe that we really are what we pretend to be.

Anima and animus

This is one of the most prevalent archetypes. While the anima represents the "feminine" qualities of the male psyche, the animus represents the "masculine" qualities in women. Jungian analysis assumes that all men have feminine components in their psyche and vice versa. These archetypes are also believed to be representations of our true selves - the path to our souls - and the source of all our creativity..

In the Western world, however, the actions performed by these archetypes have always been considered to be suppressed. For example, men have been socially conditioned to curb any sign of femininity, while women have been led to believe masculine qualities are unattractive. This can lead to internal conflicts, which can limit our potential. Jungian therapy aims to help people accept their anima / animus - uniting their unconscious and conscious - to help them feel whole. The anima and animus are the archetypes through which we communicate with the collective unconscious in general and it is important to get in touch with it. It is also the archetype responsible for our love life: as a Greek myth suggests, we are always looking for our other half; that other half that the Gods took from us, in members of the opposite sex. When we fall in love at first sight, we have come across something that has filled our anima or animus archetype particularly well..

Introversion and extroversion

Jung developed a typology of personality that has become so popular that many people believe that he did nothing else. It starts with the difference between introversion and extroversion. Introverts prefer their internal world of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, dreams, and so on, while extroverts prefer the external world of things, activities, and people..

These terms have been confused with terms like shyness and sociability, in part because introverts tend to be shy and extroverts tend to be more sociable. But Jung was referring more to how inclined (our Self) we are towards the person and external reality or towards the collective unconscious and its archetypes. In this sense, the introvert is a little more mature than the extrovert, although it is true that our culture values ​​the extrovert more..

The functions

Jung suggests that there are four ways or functions of doing this:

1. The first is that of sensations. It involves the action of obtaining information through the meanings of the senses. A sensitive person is one who directs his attention to observe and listen, and therefore, to know the world. Jung considered this function as one of the irrational.
2. The second is that of thought. Thinking means evaluating information or ideas rationally and logically. Jung called this function as rational, or decision-making based on judgments, rather than a simple consideration of information..
3. The third is intuition. This is a model of perception that works outside of typical conscious processes. It is irrational or perceptual like sensation, but it arises from a more complex integration of large amounts of information. Jung said it was like "looking around the corners".
4. The fourth is the feeling. It is the act of feeling, like thinking. It is a question of evaluating the information. In this case it is directed to the consideration of the emotional response in general. Jung called him rational; evidently not in the way we are used to using the term.

All of us have these functions and use them in different proportions. Each of us has a higher function that we prefer and that is more developed; another secondary, of which we are aware of its existence and we use it only to support the first. We also have a tertiary, which is very poorly developed and is not very conscious for us and finally a lower one, which is very poorly developed and is so unconscious that we could deny its existence in us..

Most of us only perform one or two of the functions, but our goal should be to perform all four..

The Jungian Therapy method

Jung Therapy is talk therapy, but there are various exploration methods used throughout the process. These will be applied most successfully if the relationship between the client and the therapist is based on authenticity, trust and professional collaboration among equals. The quality of this relationship ensures that clients feel comfortable opening up and explaining their problems, as they feel that they are provided with the support and security necessary to facilitate the awareness, self-realization and transformation that will help them overcome. difficulties that limit their psychological integrity.

Below are some of the common techniques a Jung therapist will use. These can be tailored to the person and their needs.

• Dream Analysis: Jung's Dream Analysis is based on the claim that dreams are "an anticipation in the unconscious." They offer ego information, advice, and constructive criticism of ourselves in an alternative perspective, challenging our ego to consider them. Ultimately our dreams compensate for the maladaptive attitudes and behaviors that are limiting our potential and it is the goal of Jung's therapist to amplify this process to help facilitate a transformation of the psyche. This may involve symbol analysis.
• Word association test: Also known as the "free association test" this method involves recording the average response time of a client for certain stimulus words. The client is asked to say the first thing that comes to mind after the therapist says something Response time is used to indicate activated unconscious complexes related to certain problem words.
• Creative Activities: Other Jungian Therapy methods may include creative activities such as painting, drama, dance, sand play, listening to music, and keeping a dream journal. These methods of self-expression can help clients engage with their active imaginations and alleviate internal creative qualities that may be inhibited by moral or ethical values..

Carl Gustav Jung Quotes

All Psychological Therapies