Jungian therapy: restoring emotional balance from the unconscious

Jungian therapy or Jung analysis seeks to illuminate those dark areas of our psyche to promote self-realization. It is the art of a deep psychology, where thanks to a dialectical and close relationship between the analyst and the patient, it is possible to unite the conscious parts with the unconscious ones to give shape to a more genuine Self and an authentic emotional balance.

If there is something that most of us know, it is that The figure of Carl Jung and his legacy attracts, inspires and fascinates. The father of analytical psychology was much more than that Swiss psychiatrist and analyst who took many of those concepts inherited from Sigmund Freud to another level. Jung was an alchemist of science, anthropology, astrology, art, religion and the world of dreams…

Far from seeing each of these areas of knowledge in isolation, he put them at the service of psychology to give it a deeper, more unitary and more dynamic meaning. In this way, the explanation of unconscious improved and so did that of that entire universe, sometimes convulsive, where our conflicts, our needs, lie.drives and those aspects that make it difficult for us to enjoy good mental health.

It should be said, however, that Jungian therapists are not plentiful. This type of therapy is not so common like many others that are based on more frequent approaches with greater documented empirical support, such as cognitive-behavioral or even humanistic. In this sense, Jung’s work, as well as Jungian therapy, despite the originality of his contributions, has been considered somewhat unsystematic and complex.

However, universities like Berkeley have been teaching Jungian psychology since the 1970s. Likewise, In the last decade there has been a resurgence of this type of therapy, especially in South America as well as in some European countries.. In Spain, for example, there is the ““Spanish Society of Analytical Psychology”responsible for spreading Jung’s legacy and training future Jungian psychotherapists.

We are, therefore, facing a type of therapy that is beginning to establish itself more strongly in the field of psychological care and that is undoubtedly worth knowing in depth.

What is the purpose of Jungian therapy?

Jungian therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy that aims to facilitate the person’s psychic integrity by coming to terms with the unconscious. Thus, something that we must understand first of all is that within this psychotherapeutic framework it is understood that we all have a “psychic substrate” with sometimes very complex unconscious dynamics that impact our attitudes, way of thinking and relating…

The objective of the Jungian therapist is to make us aware of these unconscious factors to promote a reconciliation with the unconscious. In this way, we can promote what Jung called at the time the process of individualization. That is, with this type of psychoanalysis we would achieve harmony between needs and achievements, between past and present, reaching genuine maturity where our self can be defined authentically, feeling free and able to continue growing.

At what moment or in what situations would Jungian therapy be useful to us?

Jung’s therapy can help us understand and confront processes as complex as depression, anxiety or even possible addictions.

In this way, we can consider that this approach will be useful to us in the following moments and situations in our lives:

Times when we experience certain discouragement, apathy, a feeling of uncertainty…Moments when we feel angry, frustrated with something without really knowing the reason. Stages in which we go through problems with our emotional relationship.Phases in which we begin new stages in our lives and where, in some way, we fear making the same mistakes of the past.When we feel “lost”, without knowing which direction to follow or what decisions to make. When we perceive that we are “stuck” in the same forms of behavior, those that cause us unhappiness.Jungian therapy is useful for artists or professionals who base their work on creativity. and who feel that they no longer have ideas. People who need to understand certain dreams.

Therapeutic objectives of Jungian analysis

As we have previously pointed out, Jungian analysis is a special form of psychotherapy where an attempt is made to lead the patient towards a personal “reconciliation” with the unconscious. What does this mean? It basically means that The therapeutic strategy will consist of becoming explorers of our psyche in the company of an expert professional. in this field, where we understand why certain dynamics and unconscious “presences” affect our behavior.

To make it Jungian therapy will aim to analyze a series of very specific dimensions. They are the following.

1. Work on our unconscious “material”

While for Freudian psychoanalysis the unconscious is nothing more than a space where a large part of our repressed sexual drives and desires are contained, Carl Jung takes the focus off of all those deterministic explanations to discover that in the depths of our mind there is an entire architecture of content.symbols, archetypes and meanings that we must bring to light.

In this way, and to address all this unconscious material, Jungian therapy uses two well-defined stages.

Understanding our unconscious architecture. Through a series of very specific strategies such as dream analysis, art, dialogue or imagination, the therapist should identify and understand each symbol and archetype that exists in our unconscious. However, the patient will take an active part in it, because a good part of these symbols can have a very specific meaning for that person in question. They are like energetic forces disguising a problem. Understand how our unconscious material impacts our conscious life. The second therapeutic objective will be to understand how everything that resides within us in a non-conscious way alters our ability to feel good, to feel fulfilled.

2. Dream interpretation

Jungians have a very specific vision about what our dreams really are, and that veil where all the unconscious material is contained. The dream world has a direct relationship with the egoit is like a theater where important aspects for your self-realization, your needs, your fears, your limitations can be revealed…

Thus, while Freud told us that dreams are nothing more than that field in which to satisfy certain repressed feelings, Jungians think that dreams sometimes act as critical voices, as paths that open up for us to draw new alternatives in our conscious world to have a richer life.

Therefore, far from seeing the conscious and unconscious world as two separate entities as Freudians may do, Jungian therapy sees them as a whole. Only when we integrate these two parts of our psyche into a whole, will we feel free.

3. Identify our complexes

We all have complexes, but be careful, what is not healthy is for complexes to “have” us. That is when life loses spontaneity, opportunities, potential for development and growth….

Jung explained to us in his legacy that complexes are related to inherited archetypes and our personal experiences. In this way, and according to this approach of analytical psychology, we could differentiate the following types:

Croesus Complex: need to have money and power to feel superior. Cain Complex: related to jealousy.Achilles Complex: need to hide our fragility.Brunnhilde Complex: Seeing our partners as heroes. Erostratus Complex: Seeking constant attention.Antigone Complex: need to care and protect…

4. Personality style

One of the most used evaluation tools in Jungian therapy is undoubtedly the Myers-Briggs indicator developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs.. This scale was created based on Jung’s book “Psychological Types” and aims at the following dimensions:

Understand where we are between the continuum between introversion and extroversion. Know how we process our environments and the information they contain. Know how we make our decisions, if we do so based on our emotions, judgments, etc. Discover what our preferences are, our emotional needs and work preferences.

What techniques does Jungian therapy use?

There is one fact that is interesting to consider about analytical psychology, and that is that Jung always refused to systematize his theories and clearly define clinical practice and its methodology. For this reason, the heirs of Jungian therapy were forced to resort to his articles, books and essays; Through them they found that psychotherapeutic “breath” on which to draw a line of consensus that continues to be maintained today.

Therefore, what we actually have is a set of techniques developed through a dialectical relationship between the specialist and the patient where there must be closeness, trust and a meaningful therapeutic alliance. Likewise, Jung made it very clear in his writings that the following had to be achieved:

Respect for the patient and gaining and maintaining their trust is essential to Jungian therapy. Only in this way can a good alliance be created to carry out these techniques:

Talk therapy

Jung’s therapy is based above all on conversation. Only when the patient feels safe and comfortable, can good collaboration be achieved when carrying out other techniques such as dream analysis or other creative strategies where both, patient and therapist, will be able to navigate and understand the unconscious world and proceed to the transformation.

Dream analysis

Something that we could think about first of all is that when it comes to interpreting and understanding a dream, it is enough to buy one of Jung’s books aimed at this purpose. It is not like this. One thing that Jungian therapists know well is that the set of…