Analysis Q&A

The following questions are based on inquiries from real people inquiring about Jungian Analysis.  My answers follow further down on this page.

1.     What makes Jungian Analysis unique compared to other types of psychotherapy?

2.     Couldn’t I just use a symbol dictionary rather than see an analyst?

3.     I’m not sure if I should see a Jungian Analyst if I don’t dream.  What do you think?

4.     Isn’t analysis all about spending time going over the past such as childhood issues and my relationships with my mother and father?

5.     I have heard that Jungian Analysis is best suited to artistic people or intellectual types or those who come from religious traditions.  Can you comment on that?

6.     What is the difference between a Jungian Analyst and a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist?

1.     What makes Jungian Analysis unique compared to other types of psychotherapy?

Jungian Analysis is based on the work of C.G. Jung who wrote that the potential for healing exists within each individual.  This potential can be explored by looking at our unconscious material that comes to us through dreams, creativity, and active imagination.  The unconscious speaks in symbols which is why Jungian Analysis is called a symbolic approach.  The work of analysis seeks to explore how to best understand the symbols that emerge in the context of the individual’s associations and outer life experience.

2.     Couldn’t I just use a symbol dictionary rather than see an analyst?

Jungian Analysis is based on the meeting of two people—the client and analyst in a space dedicated to the exploration of a client’s issues.  When we are a client we are necessarily unconscious of certain aspects of ourselves; the analyst can assist the client in coming to know what a symbol might mean.  This process is particularly important since in the context of Jungian psychology, one symbol has the potential to carry various meanings depending on when and how it appears. 

3.     I’m not sure if I should see a Jungian Analyst if I don’t dream.  What do you think?

Since analysis is about exploring unconscious material, it is surprising how often dreams begin to emerge in the course of the work.  However, the work is more than just dream analysis.  If you are open to exploring the possibilities of this work then that can be a good start.

4.     Isn’t analysis all about spending time going over the past such as childhood issues and my relationships with my mother and father?

The work of analysis is actually oriented in the here and now.  A client’s associations may reach into the past, but those associations inform how he or she meets life in the present.  Parental figures are often significant though analysis is just as likely to deal with the parental complexes, that is, how the internalized image of each parent functions within the client’s psyche.  

5.     I have heard that Jungian Analysis is best suited to artistic people or intellectual types or those who come from religious traditions.  Can you comment on that?

Analysis is suited to many people and is influenced by the client’s curiosity and disposition to work with symbols from their unconscious.  Jungian Analysis continues to be about developing one’s full potential, a process Jung called individuation. 

Contemporary understanding of the breadth of Jungian psychology is growing. Jung's work has had broad appeal and has attracted many different types of people who bring their own ways of interpreting his writings for their unique explorations.  Since Jung was a psychiatrist, a scholar and prolific writer who studied many disciplines, his work may be better known to those who have studied in the fields that he wrote about, for example, the value of artistic expression or the meaning of religious experience.  In any event, the direction and unfolding of analytic work is unique to an individual and does not require them to be a particular 'type' or have a particular background.   

6.     What is the difference between a Jungian Analyst and a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist?

The title Jungian Analyst is conferred on individuals who have completed a rigorous and IAAP (International Association of Analytical Psychology) accredited training program.  The title Jungian-oriented psychotherapist refers to a therapist who uses the ideas of C.G. Jung in their practice.