How is Jungian analysis different from other forms of analysis and therapy?
C. G. Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist for whom Jungian analysis is named, split from Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, when their ideas were no longer compatible. Disagreeing with Freud, Jung felt that we had many motivations other than the sexual drive, and that one of these motivations was actually for the process of psychological growth. Jung’s idea was that we develop symptoms when we fail to integrate the many potential aspects of our personality. Failure to do this is often what causes the psychological problems that bring us into therapy. If we don’t understand these deeper causes, the problems are likely to resurface in other ways, such as relationship problems or emotional blocks. The focus in Jungian analysis is less on a reductive understanding (for instance, how our parents’ shortcomings led to our difficulties), and more on a prospective understanding: What are we trying unconsciously to work out through our problems? It is certainly important to understand how th
