Carl Gustav Jung’s Analytical Therapy

Carl Gustav Jung’s Analytical Therapy Theory and Practice of Counselling and Therapy (fourth edition) Richard Nelson-Jones. Summarised By Declan Hughes Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Basic Concepts: • Psychology is first a science of consciousness and then the science of the products of the unconscious psyche. • Jung’s psyche refers to the mind and soul. • He distinguished between three psychic levels of consciousness. • In addition he paid attention to the distribution of psychic energy between the different psychic levels. • Furthermore he developed and presented different personality types. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Basic Concepts: • Psychodynamics refers to the activity and interrelationship of the various parts of the individuals personality or psyche. • Psychodynamics entails the generation and transfer of energy within the structure of the psyche. • Jung’s ideas of psychodynamics were influenced by his interests and knowledge of physics, the branch of science dealing with the properties and interactions of matter and energy. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The self is the fully developed personality: • This is attained by balancing and integrating all parts of the personality. • Jung was the forerunner of the humanistic movement, with its emphasises on self-actualisation. • Self-actualisation is central to the humanistic movement as opposed to Freud’s determination. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Structure of the psyche: • He distinguished consciousness from unconsciousness to divide the latter into its personal and collective elements. • The three levels of the psyche’s are: 1. consciousness (the ego, the persona, the self) 2. the personal unconscious (the shadow) 3. the collective unconscious. (archetypes) • Jung saw consciousness like an island arising out of a vast sea of unconsciousness. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Jung describes three most important Archetypes as : • The Self: the unification of the higher self (self-actualisation) enlightened. • The Shadow: the unconscious, the hidden aspect of the self. • The Persona: the mask we wear and rules we conform to in order to be socially acceptable in the world. The persona exists for reasons of personal convenience. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Consciousness, (the ego, the persona, the self) • Jung observes: `the child develops out of an originally unconscious animal conditioned into consciousness, primitive at first, and then slowly becoming more civilized` (1981:53). • Consciousness is an intermittent phenomenon as we enter the unconscious every time we sleep. • The self, expresses the unity of personality as a whole. It is the focal point of the conscious mind. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Consciousness: (the ego, the self) • Conscious level carries daily activities like Freud’s conscious. • The ego is the indispensable centre of a persons consciousness. The ego gives a person a sense of identity, and continuity and it has both external and internal tasks. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Consciousness. • External tasks is to provide a system of relationship between consciousness and the facts and data coming from the environment. • The ego does this functioning through, four methods, sensation, thinking, feeling and intuition. • The egos internal task is to provide a system of relationship between the content of consciousness and the processes of the unconscious. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The personal unconscious. (The shadow side) • Contents of the personal unconscious are of personal origin and comprises the whole historical aspect of the unconscious. • There is nothing peculiar about the contents of the personal unconscious and its content might just as well be conscious. • People differ in regard to the contents of the personal unconscious - some are conscious of things that others are not. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Complexes • Complexes are important features of the personal unconscious. • Complexes are accumulations of associations • The mother complex is an example of a complex. Jung considers that `the mother always plays an active part in the origin of disturbance especially in infantile neuroses or in problems and issues dating back to childhood. (over mothered, or protected). • Typical effects of the mother complex could be homosexuality, or impotence for the male. • An exaggeration of the feminine side of personality or its neglect in daughters • Other examples are inferiority, sex, aesthetic beauty and money. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The why of the shadow • A very good guide in understanding the shadow, is when we find in ourselves, qualities in others disturbing, are often those that we disown in ourselves. • Real growth or development is based on discovering our shadow. Often it is not enough to know it, we have to be shocked into seeing it and doing something about it. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

the collective unconscious (`psychic inheritance`) Archetypes • The contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. They are inborn possibilities or patterns of representation. • It is an unlearned tendency to experience things in a certain way. (similar to Freud’s instincts) • It has been passed down from the generation before and influences our interactions with others. (he’s the cut out of his auld-fellow) Jung borrowed the term archetype from St. Augustine writings. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Archetypes • Are universal images that have existed since the remotest times. • Another well-known expression of the archetypes is myth and fairytale, legends and folklore across a range of cultures and historical periods. • Such characters/animals include the hero, the redeemer, the dragon, the mother, the wise old man etc. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Additional Archetypes: • Persona: your public personality, aspects of yourself that you reveal to others. • Shadow: prehistoric fear of wild animals, represents the animal side of human nature. • Anima: feminine archetype in men. • Animus: masculine archetype in women. • Others: God, Hero, Nurturing Mother, Wise Old Man, Wicket Witch, Devil, Powerful Father. • Archetypes are important in shaping the development of personality. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The anima and the animus: • People are psychologically bisexual. • Every man or woman carries an imprint of all the ancestral experiences of the opposite sex. • Culturally and societal factors will determine how we act out such. • In general women are expected to be nurturers and less aggressive, while men are expected to be strong and to ignore the emotional side of life. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The anima & animus • Jung felt that these views meant that we develop only half of our potential. • The anima is the female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men. • The animus is the male aspect present in the collective unconscious of women. • Together they are referred to as synergy. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The shadow • The shadow consists of inferior traits of personality the individual refuses to acknowledge. Jung emphasised the darker aspects of the shadow, he acknowledges that it hold some good sides such as, normal instincts, appropriate reactions, realistic insights and creative impulses. Canbe both negative and positive • The shadow can be brought into consciousness without to much difficulty through personal development. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The self • The self is the central archetype, the archetype of order. Expresses the unity of personality as a whole bringing together the conscious and the unconscious components. • The self is restricted to being the focal point of the conscious mind. (the mandala) • The self also appears in dreams, myths, and fairytales, in the form of a super-ordinate personality, such as a king, hero, prophet or saviour. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The persona: • The persona is a concept derived from the work of actors, it is hiding behind something. • The individuals way of coping or adaptation to the world. • The persona is exclusively concerned with outer image and attitude. • Example can be street angle, house devil, being cold, etc. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Psychic energy: • All the instincts, including hunger, sex, and aggression are expressions of psychic energy. • In physics there are different manifestations of energy such as, electricity, heat and light. • The same situation occurs in psychology where energy can appear in various guises. • Psychic energy is also provided from the external environment by ways of one’s senses and feelings. • This energy derived from both internal and external sources is continually being shifted and redistributed among the structures of the psyche. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

The principle of opposites: • In order to have a concept of good you must have a concept of bad. • Tension and conflict arising from the clash of opposites are central to Jungian personality dynamics. • Jung states that it is this opposition that creates the power of the libido of the psychic. e.g. consciousness opposes unconsciousness , feminine opposes masculine, ego opposes shadow, positive aspects of archetypal images oppose their negative elements. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Psychological types: Attitudes: introversion and extraversion Introversion: main attitude is the withdrawal of psychic energy and interest from what is going on around them and projects this energy subjectively. Introverts tend to be shy and reserved individuals. Internal world interest Extraversion: main attitude is to be open and concentrate of interest externally. Extraverts are open, friendly and sociable, or they may quarrel with everybody. They relate to people and in turn are affected by them. They tend to have external interest. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Functions: • The four psychological functions are , thinking, feeling, sensations and intuition. Thinking: the thinking individual is governed by reflective thinking so that important actions proceed, or are intended to proceed from intellectually considered motives. The feeling individual is mainly governed by values placed on things arising from feelings. Thinking and feeling individuals are rational type because they are characterised by the primacy of reasoning and judging functions. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Functions (cont) • The sensation individuals is mainly governed by their awareness of external facts provided through function of the senses, seeing, touching, hearing, tasting and smelling. • The intuition individual is mainly governed by hunches and insights. Intuition is a predominantly unconscious process. • Sensation and intuition individuals are irrational types because their actions are based on the sheer intensity of perception rather than on any rational judgement. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Individuation: • Central concept to Jung’s psychology is the process of individuation. • This is the process by which the person becomes differentiated as a separate psychological individual, recognising and raises the persons consciousness of the human community. • Does not become apparent until middle age and reflects on the individuals journey through life, education and appropriate life experiences. Carl Gustav Jung Analytical Therapy

Carl Gustav Jung’s Analytical Therapy