An Outline of Analytical Psychology*
By Edward R. Edinger, M.D.
Note: Isabel Briggs Myers created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
instrument based on the theories of Carl Gustav Jung. Her goal was
to make the concept of psychological type, as described by Jung,
understandable and accessable to the world. Jung's theories of the
human psyche were complex and his style of writing not always easily
discernable. The following article, 15 pages in length, summarizes
and describes the basic concepts of C.G. Jung's theories.
Analytical Psychology is the school of depth psychology
based on the discoveries and concepts of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung
gave the broadest and most comprehensive view of the human psyche
yet available. His writings include a fully-developed theory of
the structure and dynamics of the psyche in both its conscious and
unconscious aspects, a detailed theory of personality types and,
most important, a full description of the universal, primordial
images deriving from the deepest layers of the unconscious psyche.
These primordial images are called archetypes of the collective
unconscious. The latter discovery has enabled Jung to describe
striking parallels between the unconscious images produced by individuals
in dream and vision and the universal motifs found in the religions
and mythologies of all ages.
The concept of the collective unconscious gives analytical psychology
an added dimension in comparison with other schools of psychotherapy.
It takes the theory and practice of psychotherapy out of the exclusive
realm of psychopathology and relates it to the whole history of
the evolution of the human psyche in all its cultural manifestations.
The practice of analytical psychology thus becomes not only a therapy
for neurosis but also a technique for psychological development
applicable to normal and superior individuals.
An abstract, theoretical presentation is alien to Jung who always
strove to engage the response of the whole man, not just the intellect.
This presentation should thus be recognized as no more than a two-dimensional
sketch of a three-dimensional reality.
Libido: The psychic energy that directs and motivates the
personality is called libido. Interest, attention and drive
are all expressions of libido. The libido invested in a given item
is indicated by how highly it is valued. Libido can be transformed
or displaced but not destroyed. If the libido attached to one object
disappears, it reappears elsewhere. Libido is the dynamism of the
life process manifested in the psychic sphere.
The theory of libido is closely connected with the law of opposites.
The processes of the psyche depend on a tension and interplay between
opposite poles. If one side of a pair of opposites becomes excessively
predominant in the personality, it is likely to turn into its contrary.
This is called enantiodromia. A one-sided conscious attitude
constellates its opposite in the unconscious. See Jung's essay "On
Psychic Energy" (1).
Psychological Types: Analytical psychology distinguishes
several psychological types. These refer to innate differences
in temperament which cause individuals to perceive and react to
life in different fashions. There are two attitude types,
the extravert and the introvert.
The extravert is characterized by an innate tendency for
the libido to flow outwards, connecting the individual with the
external world. The extravert naturally and spontaneously gives
greatest interest and value to the object - people, things,
external accomplishments, etc. He or she will be most comfortable
and successful when functioning in the external world and human
relationships, and will be restless and ill at ease when alone without
diversion. Having little relation to the inner world of subjectivity,
the extravert will shun it and tend to depreciate subjective concerns
as morbid or selfish.
The introvert is characterized by a tendency for the libido
to flow inwards connecting him or her with the subjective, inner
world of thought, fantasies and feelings. Greatest interest and
value is given to the subject - the inner reactions and images.
The introvert will function most satisfactorily when free from pressure
to adapt to external circumstances. He or she prefers their own
company and is reserved or uncomfortable in large groups.
Both introvert and extravert have the defects of their strengths
and each tends to undervalue the other. To the extravert, the introvert
appears self-centered and withholding of himself. To the introvert,
the extravert appears shallow, opportunistic and hypocritical.
Every individual possesses both tendencies, but one is usually
more developed than the other. As a pair of opposites they follow
the law of opposites. Thus, an excessive, one-sided emphasis on
one attitude is likely to lead to the emergence of its opposite.
The opposite, however, because it is undeveloped and undifferentiated,
will appear in a negative, crude and unadapted form. Thus the extreme
extravert will become a victim of negative inferior introversion
in the form of depressions. The extreme introvert is likely to have
episodes of compulsive extraversion which are crude, ineffectual
and unadapted to outer reality.
In addition to attitude types, we also distinguish four function
types. The four basic psychological functions are thinking,
feeling, sensation and intuition.
Thinking is the rational capacity to structure and synthesize
discrete data by means of conceptual generalizations. Feeling
is the function which determines value. It is the function that
values and promotes human relationships. Sensation is that
function which perceives and adapts to external reality via the
senses. Intuition is defined as perception via the unconscious,
that is, the perception of representations or conclusions whose
origin is obscure. These four functions arrange themselves into
two pairs of opposites: thinking - feeling and sensation - intuition.
Although every individual has all four functions potentially at
their disposal, in actuality one function is usually more fully
developed than the others. This is called the superior function.
The one least developed is the one that is most primitive and unconscious
- the inferior function.
Often a second function will have achieved considerable development
which approaches that of the superior function. This is an auxiliary
function. Since any one of the four functions may be superior,
we have the possibility of four function types: the thinking
type, feeling type, sensation type, and intuitive
type.
The thinking type is found more often in men than in women.
The thinking type's mental life is concerned largely with the creation
of intellectual formulae and the fitting of all life experience
into these forms. To the degree that the individual is identified
with the thinking function and unconscious of the other functions,
the thinking will tend to be autocratic and limit the full experience
of life. Since feeling will be the inferior function, its values
will suffer the most neglect. Human relationships will be quickly
sacrificed if they interfere with the ruling formula.
The feeling type is found more often in women than in men.
The development and sustenance of personal relationships is the
major aim. A sensitivity to human needs and a willingness to meet
them is its outstanding characteristic. It finds its greatest satisfaction
in rapport with others. In its extreme, this function type can be
objectionable in its excessive emphasis on personal matters. Since
thinking is the inferior function, its capacity for abstract, impersonal
judgments will be neglected or denied. Thinking will be accepted
only so long as it plays a subservient role to the interests of
feeling values.
The sensation type is characterized by the excellent adaptation
to simple, matter-of-fact reality. He or she is content to relate
to life on its most elementary terms without subtlety, reflection
or imagination. The sensation type appears stable and earthy but
may lack creative spark. Vision and imagination, which could mitigate
this earthbound state, are products of intuition, which is the inferior
function of this type. The sensation type, in fact, will often depreciate
intuitive expressions as unrealistic fantasies and thus be deprived
of badly needed leaven at times of mental heaviness.
The intuitive type is motivated chiefly be a steady stream
of new visions and possibilities, derived from active intuition.
The new, the strange and the different are a constant lure. He or
she often perceives obscure connections between things which seem
separate and unrelated. The intuitive mind works in quick jumps,
which is sometimes difficult for others to follow. When asked to
proceed more slowly, he or she is apt to become impatient, perhaps
considering listeners slow in making connections. This type's weakness
lies in its inferior sensation function. The relationship to reality
may be poor. The hard work required to bring a possibility into
actuality or to make an intuitive flash generally accepted seems
too onerous. He or she may remain misunderstood with insights, which
if they are to bear fruit, must be patiently developed by others.
The function types are seldom as definite as would appear by these
descriptions. Usually the development of an auxiliary function will
soften and modify the sharp characteristics here described. In addition,
we have a further complication. According to the attitude type,
each of the function types may have either an introverted or an
extraverted orientation.
Ideally, all four functions should be available to the individual
in order to have a complete response to life experience. It is one
of the goals of Jungian psychotherapy to bring in to consciousness
and to aid the development of the inferior undeveloped functions
in order to approach psychic wholeness.
Many conflicts in human relationships and disputes can be understood
through the theory of psychological types. For instance, Jung has
explained the difference between the psychological theories of Freud
and Adler on this basis. Freud's theory is concerned chiefly with
the individual's need for and love of the object. Thus it is an
extraverted theory. Adler's theory is based on the individual's
need to maintain his own self-esteem, prestige and power. Adler
emphasizes the inner, subjective need; hence his is an introverted
theory.
Differences in type can underlie difficulties in interpersonal
relationships. Marital conflicts are often related to differences
in psychological type. Knowledge of one's own type and of the fact
that other equally valid types exist can often help to relativize
one's own personal reactions and can lead to more conscious and
fruitful human relationships. (2)
Structure of the Psyche: The psyche can be divided into
conscious and unconscious aspects. The ego
is the center of conscious and the starting point for all empirical
psychology. It is the seat of individual identity, and all contents
which are conscious, must be connected with it. The unconscious
includes all psychic elements which are outside conscious awareness
and therefore are not connected with the ego.
Contents of the unconscious are first encountered as complexes.
A complex is an emotionally charged unconscious psychic entity
made up of a number of associated ideas and images clustered around
a central core. On investigation, this core is found to be an archetypal
image (see below). One recognizes that a complex has been struck
by the emergence of an affect which upsets psychic balance and disturbs
the customary function of the ego.
The ego stands between the inner world and the outer world, and
its task is to adapt to both. By its extraverted orientation, it
relates itself to external reality. By introversion, it perceives
and adapts to inner, subjective reality. The requirement for external
adaptation leads to the construction of a psychic structure which
mediates between the ego and the external world of society. This
mediating structure is called the persona, the Latin word
for the ancient actor's mask. It is the partially calculated public
face an individual assumes towards others. The persona is composed
of various elements, some based on the individual's personal propensities
and others derived from the society's expectations and the early
training of parents and teachers.
The persona is a mediating compromise between individuality and
the expectations of others. It is the role one plays in society.
It is also a protective covering that shields from public view what
is personal, intimate and vulnerable. The characteristic symbol
for the persona is the clothes we wear. Dreams involving missing
or inappropriate clothes refer to a persona problem. Ideally a persona
should be appropriate, well fitting and flexible. It is especially
important that the individual realize that he is not identical with
his persona.
The persona sometimes lends one a prestige and authority belonging
to the collective group which is not properly used for personal
ends. To identify with the persona can cause inflation and alienation
from reality. Other persona disorders include a lack of persona
which leaves the individual sensitive and exposed to every social
touch, and a too rigid, defensive persona which is a barrier to
realistic adaptation. For further discussion of the persona, see
(3).
Just as the persona stands between the ego and the outer world,
so another psychic entity stands between the ego and the inner world
of unconscious. This entity is called the shadow. The shadow
is a composite of personal characteristics and potentialities of
which the individual is unaware. Usually the shadow, as indicated
by the word, contains inferior characteristics and weaknesses which
the ego's self-esteem will not permit it to recognize.
The shadow may be personified in dreams by such figures as criminals,
drunkards and derelicts. Technically it must be of the same sex
as the dreamer. As with all unconscious contents, the shadow is
first experienced in projection. This means that an unconscious
quality of one's own is first recognized and reacted to when it
is discovered in an outer object. So long as the shadow is projected,
the individual can hate and condemn freely the weakness and evil
seen in others while maintaining a sense of righteousness. Discovery
of the shadow as a personal content may, if it is sudden, cause
temporary confusion and depression. This will be most likely if
the ego's previous attitude has bee especially inflated.
The shadow is the first layer of the unconscious to be encountered
in psychological analysis. It is not always a negative content.
In many cases unconscious positive potentialities of the personality
reside in the shadow. In such cases we speak of a positive shadow.
Furthermore, the evil and dangerous aspect of the shadow is often
due more to its circumstances than to its essence. Just as animals
which have become vicious by starvation and brutal treatment can
be changed into loyal companions by loving care, so the shadow loses
much of its negative aspect when given conscious acceptance and
attention.
The problem of the shadow and its projection applies to collective
psychology as well. The persecution of the Jews by the Nazis is
a terrifying example of the extent to which a collective shadow
projection can go. The same psychological mechanism operates in
discrimination against other minority groups. For more on the shadow,
see (4).
The first layer of the unconscious, the shadow, is also called
by Jung the personal unconscious, as distinguished from the
collective unconscious. The personal unconscious or shadow contains
personal contents belonging to the individual himself which can
and properly should be made conscious and integrated into the conscious
personality and ego. The collective unconscious, on the other hand,
is composed of transpersonal, universal contents which cannot be
assimilated by the ego. Between these two layers of the unconscious,
the personal and the collective, is another entity with, so to speak,
one foot on each side. This is the anima in a man and the
animus in a woman.
The anima is an autonomous psychic content in the male personality
which can be described as an inner woman. She is the psychic representation
of the contrasexual elements in man and is depicted in symbolic
imagery by figures of women ranging from harlot and seductress to
divine wisdom and spiritual guide. She is the personification of
the feminine principle in man, the principle of Eros,
pertaining to love and relatedness. The projection of the anima
is responsible for the phenomenon of a man's "falling in love."
Too much identification of the ego with the anima causes the man
to outwardly manifest feminine qualities.
Anima moods or states of anima possession can be
recognized by their characteristic features of resentment and emotional
withdrawal. Such a condition renders a man psychically paralyzed
and impotent. It is most likely to occur in relation to a woman
with whom he is emotionally and sexually involved. With full psychological
development, the anima leads the man to the full meaning of human
relationship and provides him an entrance to the deeper layers of
the psyche, the collective unconscious.
The animus is the corresponding representative of the masculine
contrasexual elements in the psychology of women. It can be expressed
in symbolic imagery by a multitude of male figures from frightening,
aggressive men threatening rape to divining bringers of light. It
is the personification of the masculine principle in women,
the principle of Logos, which is the capacity for rationality
and consciousness. A woman's "falling in love" is likewise due to
the projection of the animus. Subjective identification of the ego
with the animus causes the woman to lose contact with her feminine
nature and to take on more masculine qualities.
The animus-possessed woman is more interested in power than
in relatedness. As with the man's anima, the animus is most often
activated in relation to an emotionally significant man, especially
a man with whom she is sexually involved. Indeed, the anima and
animus have a marked affinity for each other. The slightest evidence
of one is likely to evoke the other in the partner. With maturity
and maximum development, the animus can become a valuable psychic
entity enabling the woman to function with objective rationality
and, similarly to the anima in a man, opens to her the collective
unconscious. Further discussion of anima and animus is in (5)
and (6).
The collective unconscious, more recently termed objective
psyche, is the deepest layer of the unconscious which is ordinarily
inaccessible to conscious awareness. Its nature is universal, suprapersonal
and non-individual. Its manifestations are experienced as something
alien to the ego, numinous or divine. The contents of the collective
unconscious are called archetypes and their particular symbolic
manifestations, archetypal images.
The concept of the archetype has a close relation to the concept
of instinct. An instinct is a pattern of behavior which is
inborn and characteristic for a certain species. Instincts are discovered
by observing the behavior patterns of individual organisms. The
instincts are the unknown motivating dynamisms that determine an
animal's behavior on the biological level.
An archetype is to the psyche what an instinct is to the body.
The existence of archetypes is inferred by the same process as that
by which we infer the existence of instincts. Just as instincts
common to a species are postulated by observing the uniformities
in biological behavior, so archetypes are inferred by observing
the uniformities in psychic phenomena. Just as instincts are unknown
motivating dynamisms of biological behavior, archetypes are unknown
motivating dynamisms of the psyche. Archetypes are the psychic instincts
of the human species. Although biological instincts and psychic
archetypes have a very close connection, exactly what this connection
is we do not know any more than we understand just how the mind
and body are connected.
Archetypes are perceived and experienced subjectively through certain
universal, typical, recurring mythological motifs and images. These
archetypal images, symbolically elaborated in various ways,
are the basic contents of religions, mythologies, legends and fairy
tales of all ages. Such images also emerge from the collective unconscious
of individuals through dreams and visions in cases of deep psychological
analysis, profound subjective experience or major mental disorder.
The experience of encountering an archetypal image has a strong
emotional impact which conveys a sense of divine or suprapersonal
power transcending the individual ego. Such an experience often
transforms the individual and radically alters their outlook on
life.
Archetypal images are so various and numerous that they defy comprehensive
listing. For our purposes, we shall describe four broad categories
of archetypal imagery.
I. The Archetype of the Great Mother, the personification
of the feminine principle, represents the fertile womb out of which
all life comes and the darkness of the grave to which it returns.
Its fundamental attributes are the capacity to nourish and to devour.
It corresponds to mother nature in the primordial swamp - life being
constantly spawned and constantly devoured. If the great mother
nourishes us, she is good; if she threatens to devour us, she is
bad. In psychological terms, the great mother corresponds to the
unconscious which can nourish and support the ego or can swallow
it up in psychosis or suicide. The positive, creative aspects of
the great mother are represented by breast and womb. The negative,
destructive aspects appear as the devouring mouth or the vagina
dentata. In more abstract symbolism, anything hollow, concave
or containing pertains to the great mother. Thus, bodies of water,
the earth itself, caves, dwellings, vessels of all kinds are feminine.
So also is the box, the coffin and the belly of the monster which
swallows up its victims. See Neumann(7).
II. The Archetype of the Spiritual Father. As the great
mother pertains to nature, matter and earth, the great father archetype
pertains to the ream of light and spirit. It is the personification
of the masculine principle of consciousness symbolized by the upper
solar region of heaven. From this region comes the wind, pneuma,
nous, ruach, which has always been the symbol of spirit
as opposed to matter. Sun and rain likewise represent the masculine
principle as fertilizing forces which impregnate the receptive earth.
Images of piercing and penetration such as phallus, knife, spear,
arrow and ray all pertain to the spiritual father. Feathers, birds,
airplanes and all that refers to flying or height are part of this
complex of symbols which emphasizes the upper heavenly realms. In
addition, all imagery involving light or illumination pertain to
the masculine principle as opposed to the dark earthiness of the
great mother. Illumination of the countenance, crowns, halos and
dazzling brilliance of all kinds are aspects of masculine solar
symbolism.
The image of the wise old man as judge, priest, doctor or
elder is a human personification of this same archetype. The positive
aspect of the spiritual father principle conveys law, order, discipline,
rationality, understanding and inspiration. Its negative aspect
is that it may lead to alienation from concrete reality causing
inflation, a state of spiritual hubris or presumption that generates
grandiose thoughts of transcendence and results in the fate of Icarus
or Phaeton.
III. The Archetype of Transformation pertains to a psychic
process of growth, change and transition. It can express itself
in many different images with the same underlying core of meaning.
Perilous journeys to unknown destinations, exploration of dark places,
purposeful descent to the underworld or under the sea or into the
belly of a monster to find a hidden treasure are expressions of
this archetype. The theme of death and rebirth as well as the symbolism
of initiation rites in all of their various forms; the crossing
of rivers or waters or chasms and the climbing of mountains; the
theme of redemption, salvation or recovery of what has been lost
or degraded, wherever it appears in mythological or unconscious
symbolism - all of these are expressions of the archetype of transformation.
The theme of the birth of the hero or wonder-child also belongs
to this archetype. This image expresses the emergence of a new,
dynamic content in the personality presaging decisive change and
enlargement of consciousness. (8)
A rich and complex example of this archetype is provided by the
symbolism of medieval alchemy. In alchemy, the psychic transformation
process was projected into matter. The goal of the alchemists was
to transmute base matter into gold or some other supremely valuable
object. The imagery of alchemy derives from the collective unconscious
and belongs properly to the psychological process of transformation.(9)
IV. The Central Archetype, The Self, expresses psychic wholeness
or totality. The Self is defined by Jung as both the center
and circumference of the psyche. It incorporates within its paradoxical
unity all the opposites embodied in the masculine and feminine archetypes.
Since it is a borderline concept referring to an entity which transcends
and encompasses the individual ego, we can only allude to it and
not encompass it by a definition. As the central archetype is emerging,
it often appears as a process of centering or as a process involving
the union of opposites.
Alchemical symbolism gives us numerous examples of the central
archetype as a union of opposites. For example, the philosopher's
stone, one of the goals of the alchemical process, was depicted
as resulting from the marriage of the red king and the white queen,
or from the union of the sun and moon, or fire and water. The product
of such a union is a paradoxical image often described as hermaphroditic.
Other images which are used to express the union of opposites are
the reconciliation of opposing partisan factions and the reconciliation
of good and evil, God and Satan.
The emerging central archetype gives rise to images of the mandala.
The term mandala is used to describe the representations of the
Self, the archetype of totality. The typical mandala in its simplest
form is a quadrated circle combining the elements of a circle with
a center plus a square, a cross or some other expression of fourfoldness.
Mandalas are found everywhere in all times and places. They seem
to represent a basic unifying and integrating principle which lies
at the very root of the psyche. Mandalas can be found in the cultural
products of all races. A fully developed mandala usually emerges
in an individual's dreams only after a long process of psychological
development. It is then experienced as a release from an otherwise
irreconcilable conflict and may convey a numinous awareness of life
as something ultimately harmonious and meaningful in spite of its
apparent contradictions. (10,11)
Psychological Development is the progressive emergence and
differentiation of the ego or consciousness from the original state
of unconsciousness. It is a process which, ideally, continues throughout
the lifetime of the individual. In contradistinction to physical
development, there is no time at which one can say that full psychic
development has been achieved. Although we may distinguish various
stages of development for descriptive purposes, actually one stage
merges into another in a single fluid continuum.
In the early phase, the ego has very little autonomy. It is largely
in a state of identification with the objective psyche within and
the external world without. It lives in the world of archetypes
and makes no clear distinction between inner and outer objects.
This primitive state of ego development is called, after Lévy-Bruhl,
participation mystique, and is shared by both the primitive
and the child. It is a state of magical participation and interpretation
between the ego and its surroundings. What is ego and what is non-ego
are not distinguished. Inner world and outer world are experienced
as a single totality. This primitive state of participation mystique
is also evident in the phenomena of mob psychology in which individual
consciousness and responsibility are temporarily eclipsed by identification
with a collective dynamism.
Jung made no effort to present a systematic theory of psychological
development. However, some of his followers, especially Neumann(12),
have attempted to fill in this gap. Following Neumann, the stages
of psychological development can be described as follows.
The first or original state is called the uroboric stage,
derived from uroborus, the circular image of the tail-eating
serpent. It refers to the original totality and self-containment
which is prior to the birth of consciousness. The ego exists only
as a latent potentiality in a state of primary identity with
the Self or objective psyche. This state is presumed to pertain
during the prenatal period and early infancy.
The transition between this state and the second stage of development
corresponds to the creation of the world for the individual psyche.
Thus world creation myths refer to this first decisive event in
psychic development - the birth of the ego out of the unconscious.
The basic theme of all creation myths is separation. Out of undifferentiated
wholeness one element is discriminated from another. It may be expressed
as the creation of light - the separation of light from darkness,
or as the separation of the world parents - the distinction between
masculine and feminine, or the emergence of order out of chaos.
In each case the meaning is the same, namely, the birth of consciousness,
the capacity to discriminate between opposites.
The second stage of psychological development is called the matriarchal
phase. Although beginning consciousness has appeared, it is
as yet only dim and fitful. The nascent ego is still largely passive
and dependent on its uroboric matrix which now takes on the aspect
of the great mother. Masculine and feminine elements are not yet
clearly differentiated so that the great mother will still be undifferentiated
as to sex. To this stage belongs the image of the phallic mother
incorporating both masculine and feminine components. Here, the
ruling psychic entity is the great mother. The predominant concern
will be to seek her nourishment and support and to avoid her destructive,
devouring aspect. The father archetype or masculine principle has
not yet emerged into separate existence. Mother is still all. The
ego has achieved only a precarious separation and is still dependent
on the unconscious, which is personified as the great mother.
The matriarchal phase is represented mythologically by the imagery
of the ancient Near Eastern mother religions, for example, the Cybele-Attis
myth. Attis, the son-lover of Cybele, was unfaithful to her. In
a frenzy of regret, reflecting his dependent bondage, he was castrated
and killed. The matriarchal phase corresponds to the Oedipal
phase as described by Freud. However, analytical psychologists
interpret incest symbolically rather than literally as was done
by Freud. The matriarchal phase is the phase of original incest,
symbolically speaking, prior to the emergence of the incest taboo.
In the life of the individual, this phase corresponds roughly with
the early years of childhood.
The third stage is called the patriarchal phase. The transition
is characterized by particular themes, images and actions. In an
attempt to break free from the matriarchal phase, the feminine with
all its attributes is rejected and depreciated. The theme of initiation
rituals pertains to this period of transition. The father archetype
or masculine principle emerges in full force and claims the allegiance
of the individual. Tests, challenges, rules and discipline are set
up in opposition to the sympathy and comfortable containment of
the great mother. The incest taboo is erected prohibiting regression
to the mother-bound state.
Once the transition to the patriarchal stage has been accomplished,
the archetype of the great father, the masculine spirit principle,
determines the values and goals of life. Consciousness, individual
responsibility, self-discipline and rationality will be the prevailing
values. Everything pertaining to the feminine principle will be
repressed, depreciated or subordinated to masculine ends. In childhood
development, the patriarchal phase will be particularly evident
in the years preceding puberty.
The fourth phase is designated the integrative phase. The
preceding patriarchal stage has left the individual one-sided and
incomplete. The feminine principle, woman and therefore the anima
and the unconscious have been repressed and neglected. Another change
or transition is thus needed to redeem these neglected psychic elements.
This transition phase also has its characteristic imagery. The
most typical myth is the hero fighting the dragon. In this archetypal
story, a beautiful maiden is in captivity to a dragon or monster.
The maiden is the anima, the precious but neglected feminine principle
which has been rejected and depreciated in the previous patriarchal
phase of development. The monster represents the residual uroboric
state, the great mother in its destructive, devouring aspect. The
anima or feminine value is still attached to this dangerous element
and can be freed only by heroic action. The hero represents the
necessary ego attitude that is willing to relinquish the safety
of the conventional patriarchal standards and expose himself once
again to the unconscious, the dangers of regression and bondage
to the woman in order to redeem a lost but necessary element, the
anima. If this is successful, the anima or feminine principle is
raised to its proper value modifying and completing the previous
one-sided patriarchal attitude.
This is a decisive step in psychological integration that amounts
to a reconciliation of opposites; masculine and feminine, law and
love, conscious and unconscious, spirit and nature. In individual
development of the youth, this phase corresponds to the emerging
capacity to relate to girls during puberty which is subsequently
followed by love for a particular woman and eventually marriage.
It should be understood that although these phases of psychic development
have been related to various periods in the development of the child
and young man, their meaning is not confined to these external events.
The end of psychological development is not reached with the event
of marriage. Such external happenings are only the external manifestations
of an archetypal process of development which still awaits its inner
realization. Furthermore, the series of psychological stages here
described can be traversed not once but many times in the course
of psychic development. These stages are, so to speak, successive
way stations that we return to again and again in the course of
a spiral journey which takes one over the same course repeatedly
but each time on a different level of conscious awareness.*
*The foregoing account of development refers particularly to
masculine psychology. Although the same stages of development apply
to a woman, they will be experienced in a somewhat different way.
Relevant myths are those of Demeter and Persephone and Amor and
Psyche. See Neumann's excellent commentary on Amor and Psyche.(13)
Jung's major contribution to developmental psychology is his concept
of individuation. The term refers to a developmental process which
begins in the adult individual, usually after the age of thirty-five,
and if successful leads to the discovery of the Self and the replacing
of the ego by it as the personality center.
Individuation is the discovery of and the extended dialogue with
the objective psyche of which the Self is the comprehensive expression.
It begins with one or more decisive experiences challenging egocentricity
and producing an awareness that the ego is subject to a more comprehensive
psychic entity. Although the full fruits of the individuation process
only appear in the second half of life, the evolving relation between
the ego and the objective psyche is a continuous one from birth
to death.
The Process of Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is a
systematic examination and cultivation of the inner life. It is
applicable not only to neurosis and mental disorders but also to
those with a normal psychology who wish to promote their own psychological
development. A unique and comprehensive technique has been developed.
The basic instrument of this procedure is the personality of the
psychotherapist. Major care and attention is thus given to the selection
and training of potential psychotherapists.
The primary requirement for a psychotherapist is that he or she
has experienced a thorough personal analysis which leads to a high
level of psychological development. It is a basic axiom that a therapist
can lead his patient's psychic development no further than he himself
has gone. Fundamentally, it is the patient's opportunity to have
a living relationship and dialogue with a more developed conscious
personality that produces the healing effect.
After the initial consultation, when the decision is made to begin
work with a particular psychotherapist, the procedure is started
by taking a detailed anamnesis. This is a historical summary
and discussion of all significant life experiences in chronological
order which the patient can recall. Next comes an examination of
the current life situation with particular emphasis on areas that
are felt to be problematical. Only when the past and the present
have been explored adequately, so far as they are available to consciousness,
does the therapist turn attention to the unconscious.
The major approach to the unconscious is through dream interpretation.
A dream is considered to be an expression of the objective
psyche describing in symbolic language the nature of the current
psychic situation. The understanding of dreams thus becomes a powerful
aid in the growth of consciousness.
A dream is a symbol. This term has a particular connotation
in analytical psychology. A symbol is not a sign and does not stand
for a known meaning that could be expressed equally well in another
way. A symbol is an image or form giving the best expression available
to a content whose meaning is still largely unknown. On the basis
of this definition it is clear that a symbol (or dream) cannot be
interpreted as though it were a sign standing for a well-known meaning.
It must be approached by the method of analogy which amplifies
the unknown meaning to the point of visibility.
In analytical psychology, the interpretation of dreams is undertaken
by amplification. The method has two aspects, personal
amplification and general amplification.
Personal amplification is done by asking the patient for
associations to each of the specific items and figures in
the dream. Associations are the spontaneous feelings, thoughts
and memories that come to mind concerning the given item in the
dream. The total of the associations to all the elements in the
dream provide the personal context of the dream and often lead to
a significant meaning.
General amplification is done by the psychotherapist on
the basis of personal knowledge. It provides the collective, archetypal
associations to the dream elements. Here is where the therapist's
knowledge of the collective or objective psyche is put to use. When
a dream contains an archetypal image or theme, the therapist demonstrates
this by presenting parallel imagery from mythology, legend and folklore.
General amplification establishes the collective context of the
dream enabling it to be seen as referring not only to a personal
psychic problem but also to a general, collective problem common
to all human experience. General amplification introduces the patient
to the collective or objective psyche and at the same time helps
the process of disidentifying the ego from the objective psyche.
As long as the patient experiences his problems and his dreams as
referring only to his personal psychology, his ego remains largely
identified with the objective psyche and he carries a burden of
collective guilt and responsibility not properly personal which
can paralyze his capacity to function.
In addition to dreams, imaginative and expressive activity of all
kinds is encouraged. Drawing, painting, sculpture, story writing,
etc., may be suggested as means of expressing emerging unconscious
material. Such creative products are then examined in much the same
way as dreams. Even without analytic interpretation, the effort
to give verbal or visual expression to unconscious images can often
be very useful. The objectification of a psychic image, by painting
for instance, can help to disidentify the ego from the unconscious
and may release a sum of psychic energy.
At a later stage of psychotherapy another important technique is
introduced in suitable cases. This is called active imagination.
This procedure must be learned and requires considerable experience
to use. There must be discrimination in its use since in some cases
there is danger that it might activate unconscious contents that
cannot be controlled. Properly used, however, it is a very valuable
technique.
Active imagination is a process of conscious, deliberate participation
in fantasy. It often takes the form of a dialogue between the ego
and a fantasy figure - perhaps the shadow or anima. It can be extremely
helpful in bringing an unconscious content into consciousness especially
when the ego feels it has reached an impasse. To the degree that
a patient can independently use active imagination successfully,
there will be less need for the help of the therapist. Indeed, the
development of this technique often leads to the termination of
formal psychotherapy since the patient then has the capacity to
relate to and deal with the unconscious.
A very common and important phenomenon in psychotherapy is the
transference. This refers to the emotional involvement, either
positive or negative, based on unconscious factors which the patient
feels for the psychotherapist. The transference is due to the projection
of unconscious contents onto the therapist. Such projection may
have varying kinds of content and intensity. Commonly, an early
form of the projection is an expectation of being treated in the
same way as the patient had been treated by the parent of the same
sex as the analyst. However, in a deep transference after the analysis
of these superficial aspects, it is generally found that the transference
is based on the projection of the Self onto the analyst. The analyst
then becomes endowed with all the awesome power and authority of
the deity. So long as this projection prevails, the relationship
to the therapist will be the container for the highest life value.
This is because the Self is the center and source of psychic life,
and contact with it must be preserved at all cost. As long as the
therapist is carrying the projection of the Self, the relationship
between the therapist and patient will be equivalent to connection
with the Self, which is vital to the patient's psyche. To the degree
that this projection can be consciously recognized, dependence on
the therapist will be replaced progressively by an inner relatedness
to the Self. Through the intermediary step of experiencing and living
through the transference, the patient will gradually reach awareness
of the inner power and authority of the objective psyche as it is
manifested internally.(14)
Synchronicity is the term Jung coined for a postulated acausal
connecting principle to explain the occurrence of meaningful coincidences.
The phenomenon of synchronicity stands on the borderline of human
knowledge and what is said about it must remain tentative. Nevertheless,
there is a growing body of evidence indicating that under certain
circumstances events in the outer world coincided meaningfully with
inner psychic states. Evidence of extrasensory perception and parapsychological
experiments indicate this.
Synchronistic events are often encountered during an analysis of
the unconscious, particularly when the objective psyche has been
activated. Sometimes, for instance, the pertinent associations to
a dream refer to life experiences that occur after the dream
rather than before it. Evidence is accumulating that the objective
psyche functions beyond the categories of time and space. Dreams
thus can allude to future events as well as to past events.
Whether or not an event can be considered an example of synchronicity
depends on the individual's subjective response - whether he feels
it to be a meaningful coincidence. Obviously such subjective judgments
cannot be verified by objective statistical methods. Such subjective
experiences are the empirical data of psychology. On this subjective
basis it is known that synchronistic events do occur, sometimes
with a numinous impact on the individual.
The full significance of synchronicity is still to be discovered.
We already have hints from what is so far known that at some point
the objective psyche may emerge with outer physical reality to form
a unitary reality transcending the antithesis of subject and object.(15)
Bibliography
1. Jung, C.G. The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche.
Collected Works, Vol. 8, Bollingen Series XX. Pantheon, New York,
1960. pp. 3-66.
2. Jung, C.G. Psychological Types. Routledge and Kegan Paul,
London, 1923.
3. Jung, C.G. Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. Collected
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190-193.
4. von Franz, Marie-Louise. "The Process of Individuation," in
Man and His Symbols, edited by C.G. Jung, Doubleday, Garden
City, New York, 1964, pp. 168-172.
5. Jung, C.G. Two Essays, pp. 186-209.
6. von Franz, Marie-Louise, pp. 177-195.
7. Neumann, Erich. The Great Mother. Bollingen Series XLVII.
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11. von Franz, Marie-Louise, pp. 196-211.
12. Neumann, Erich. The Origins and History of Consciousness,
Bollingen Series XLII. Pantheon, New York, 1954.
13. Neumann, Erich. Amor and Psyche, Bollingen Series LIV.
Pantheon, New York, 1956.14.
14. Jung, C.G. The Practice of Psychotherapy, Collected
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15. Jung, C.G. "Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,"
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* AN OUTLINE OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, by Edward F. Edinger, M.D.,
was first published in Quadrant, a publication of the Jung Foundation
for Analytical Psychology, Inc., New York, N.Y. in 1968.
