Analytical Psychology
Individuation, Archetype, Complex, Extraversion, Introversion – these terms have become part of common language and are familiar to most of us. The fact that these terms come from the work of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung is not as well known. Jung's Analytical Psychotherapy is based on a depth psychological model of the relations between conscious and unconscious minds. Adding to the idea of an individual unconscious that of a collective unconscious, Jung described archaic characteristics and patterns of perception, typical in human life, which he called archetypes. Jung's thought is based on the idea of a self-regulating psyche. Emotional processes are understood as feeling-toned dynamic events that can manifest themselves emotionally as well as somatically. Given a favourable environment, these emotional processes allow life to unfold in a productive manner. Under adverse conditions, they can cause a large variety of emotional disturbances, from minor to major forms of suffering.
 The Jungian concept of Analytical Psychology is more than just a psychological theory; it is also a psychoanalytical psychotherapy, and thus a method for treating behavioural and emotional disturbances and psychosomatic illnesses. Moreover, it is an approach promoting self-realization and the development of the personality (individuation).
Jung's Analytical Psychology has had a major impact on the intellectual history of the 20th century, concerning itself as it does with the archetypal foundations of myths and folktales, their motifs, images, and symbols. In the practice of psychotherapy, the interpretation of dreams and fantasies as expressions of unconscious processes is central to its method. The method also requires understanding psychological processes that take place between conscious and unconscious minds. Finally, the relationship between therapist and patient is of decisive importance.
|
