The Classification of My Analytical Orientation

I decided to pursue the therapeutic orientation of Analytical Psychology according to C.G. Jung because I realized in my life that personal truth lies behind the things that are superficially visible. In humans, the unconscious can provide access to parts of one's own truth that are not yet visible.

The basic idea of the therapeutic orientation according to C.G. Jung depends on the notion of the human being as a bipolar being who at every moment also carries the Other inside. Jungian therapy is based on the premise of these two poles, which cannot exist without each other and which strive for complementarity in all psychic phenomena. This structural foundation pervades Jung’s view of a "creative psyche."

Complementarity as a Therapeutic Goal

Therapeutic cooperation can help the client find creative solutions to the conflict that has impelled her/ him to seek therapy. This solution already exists in the unconscious psyche of the client. The goal is to balance the pole on which there is too heavy an emphasis and which does not want to be ignored with the other pole, which does not want to be (or cannot be) seen, as an imbalance caused by one-sidedness makes the psyche freeze, which causes pain and dysfunctionality to fight for their very raison d'être.

In Analytical Psychology, contradiction, i.e. conflict, is seen as both an opportunity and a task that allows one to get to know the other side of one's own truth. "Wholeness also means being contradictory."

Conflict as a Creative Process

As C.G. Jung says, a real conflict can never be solved on the same level of consciousness on which it is experienced. You can only outgrow it. When a person's consciousness reaches the point where both sides of a conflict are seen and accepted, one slowly stops characterizing the experience as a conflict. (Wilhelm & Jung 1986, p 20 f.)

Jungian-oriented psychotherapy therefore means the pursuit of a holistic view of the human soul and always requires the inclusion of an opposing view. In Jungian Analytical Psychology, the darkly pessimistic approach to exploring problems that is often attributed to psychotherapeutic analysis instead offers an encouraging view of complementary opposing structures that strive for balance and wholeness.

The Unconscious

In this pursuit of wholeness, the unconscious becomes the center of attention. The unconscious is not seen as a dark, alien, frightening abyss that needs to be tamed, but as a helpful aspect of human existence that needs to be known and explored. Therefore, therapeutic work can be seen as a creative process by which one can get to know this unconscious psychic landscape in which other languages and laws apply than in our conscious minds.

This journey primarily takes place within the context of the therapeutic relationship, incorporating a process theory that emphasizes the individuation of the person throughout her/ his life.

Individuation - Become the Individual You Are

The concept of individuation is a key term in Analytical Psychology when it comes to the description of the path to the self and the experience of wholeness. When one accepts the task of personal individuation by confronting inner conflicts, there is the possibility of realizing immanent possibilities within oneself. The focus is on the formation of the underlying personality and the orientation towards a centered inner soul.

For C.G. Jung was no less than the "reversal of all the values and ideals of the morning" (GW Vol. 8, §778)

In summary, the following primary goals of Analytical Psychology are:

Weiterführende Informationen zur therapeutischen Ausrichtung der Analytischen Psychologie finden Sie unter anderem auf folgenden Webseiten:

"Where the archetype resonates, the human dimension is exceeded."

– Kathrin Asper, 1990, p. 195