Jungian Therapy: Tuning into your Inner Compass

Jungian therapy is a unique approach to therapy that explores the depths of the psyche. Carl Jung, was a Swiss analyst in the early 1900’s who ventured away from Freudian psychoanalysis because he did not feel like Freud’s approach took into account all the aspects of the psyche. Jung developed his theory by spending many years observing patients in the psychiatric hospital and through his own self-exploration.

Jungian therapy is about making the ‘unconscious more conscious.’

For Jung, the psyche is made up of the ‘conscious’ mind—what we are aware of and the ‘unconscious’ mind—what we are not aware of. The unconscious mind contains the ‘personal unconscious’ and the ‘collective unconscious.’ The personal unconscious is made up of our own personal repressed materials and the collective unconscious is made up of the collective human experiences and archetypes—these show up in dreams, mythological motifs, religious/spiritual imagery, symbols and in altered states.

Within the psyche, according to Jung, there is the ‘persona’ which can be seen as the mask we wear or face we present to the world. In the psyche, there is also a ‘ego’ which is the center of the field of consciousness and awareness.

You do not need to know all about archetypes or Jungian terms but there are a few that may be helpful to understand:

Archetype- Universal images and patterns. The primary elements that make up the human psyche and the collective unconscious.

Self- Self may be one of the most important concepts in Jungian work. Everyone has a built-in instinct to move towards Self, wholeness and towards the unification of the unconscious and conscious. Self is the nucleus or core of the psyche and every person is naturally drawn towards it in the process of ‘Individuation.’ Individuation is the main goal of Jungian therapy and I will describe this process below.

The Shadow- The shadow is everything in the personal unconscious that you are not aware of. Usually it is repressed material such as repressed memories or desires. Jungians sees the shadow as fertile grounds for deeper exploration.

Anima and Animus- The feminine and masculine that both exist in every person’s psyche.

Wise old man/woman—Sometimes the Self is represented by a wise old man/woman or some type of guide in dreams of myths.

Hero/Hero’s Journey—The hero usually represents the ego. The hero’s journey represents the journey the ego makes to differentiate itself from the murky waters of the collective unconscious—then it move towards Self/wholeness in the individuation process.

Complexes—Autonomous parts of the psyche, separate from the ego and with personalities of their own. Also can be called ‘parts.’

Symbol- Images/words that convey meaning.

Individuation

The goal of Jungian work is individuation. Individuation is the unification of unconscious and consciousness and the movement towards wholeness or the Self—It is like tuning into your inner compass. How this can look in session is doing work around making the unconscious more conscious. Here are some ways that can be done:

-Active Imagination

-Dream work

-Shadow Work

-Expressive, Creative Work

-Sandtray

Active Imagination

Active Imagination is one of the main interventions that Jungians use—it is like entering a mindfulness state and letting anything that wants to come up from the psyche—come up. It may feel like daydreaming for some people. In the session, it may look like turning within and have a conversation with your complexes, the archetypes or with a dream figure. For many people it helps to use a medium for this process such as drawing, collaging, writing, psychodrama or working in the sandtray.

Dream Work

The personal and collective unconscious speaks to us through the images and symbols in dreams—this can sometimes lead to very fruitful insights and connections that may not have been made during waking conscious states. When working with dreams in therapy, a client will bring a dream into the session that they want to work with. Then the therapist and client will examine it for any meaningful themes or motifs. I like to have a client take note of nouns in the dream—person, places or things—and then take a moment to identify any associations they have with that noun. If it is a image of a fox, I may ask—‘What are the firsts things that come to mind when you think of a fox?’ Then we may see if any of those things seem relevant to the meaning of that dream image for the client. I tend to look for personal associations and meaning but other Jungian therapist may do something called ‘amplification’ which is looking at the universal and collective themes connected to this image. For example, where do foxes show up in mythology, fairytales or in religion? I may also ask clients to draw the dream image or make a scene about the dream in the sandtray—to see if we can feel into any other deeper meanings that the image carries.

Have you had a dream that felt very meaningful?

Have you had a re-occuring dream?

Shadow Work

Shadow work is simply making the unconscious, conscious and facing repressed material. All of us repress material that we cannot handle in the moment—that is totally natural. After a lifetime of repressing things—we may have a buildup of repressed material lingering in the personal unconscious. This repressed material may pop up in startling ways—through dreams, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, ‘projections,’ compulsions, obsessions, and judgements. A projection is when we project something on to someone else that we don’t like about ourselves—an example of this could be when someone that may struggle with their own self-image issues criticizes another person for not being in shape. Or someone accuses someone else of being angry all the time when really they are the one that is angry. Taking a step back and gently facing the shadow can yield some very profound results. In shadow work sessions, I may also invite the client to draw, collage or make a sandtray scene about their shadow.

Expressive Arts

The unconscious likes to speak in images and symbols and by using expressive arts as mediums we can directly communicate with the unconscious. Creativity, curiosity and play are also qualities that belong to the Self—if you can access these then you are accessing Self. I may ask the client to enter a mindfulness state and draw or paint what comes to mind. I may ask them to draw a dream. After they are done we may do something called ‘sitting with the image’—that looks like a guided mindfulness exercise around what is coming up for the client when gazing at the image. I will ask clients to track any thoughts, feelings, memories, images or sensations in the body—that come up when they look at the image. Jungians trust that the unconscious will bring up what needs to come up.

Sandtray

Sandtray is a classic Jungian intervention. The sandtray allows us to bypass the cognitive ego brain and go straight to directly working with the unconscious. I may ask the client to do active imagination in the sandtray—letting whatever come up that wants to come up. I may also invite the client to make a scene that represents a dream that they had. While working in the sand, I will ask clients to track thoughts, feelings, memories or sensations in the body that are coming up while they are in this process.

To learn more about sandtray—check out my blog on sandtray.

Grief and Trauma

Trauma, grief, pain and suffering can all be seen as an invitation or an opportunity to embark on a individuation journey. Painful experiences can be seen as a call from your Self to seek deeper meaning in life and to connect with the collective. This can sometimes look like a spiritual experience or encounter; a dark night of the soul. Jungian therapy assists in the meaning making process that gives us a sense of purpose in life. After something tragic happens, it helps to connect to our sense of purpose and meaning.

Spirituality

Jungians value the spiritual aspects of nature and the psyche. Whether someone is spiritual, religious or curious to explore existential themes—Jungian therapy facilitates this type of work. When a person encounters the deep layers of the collective unconscious or confronts the wise Self—there is often a awe inspiring and even mystical experience that arises.

Your life is a hero’s journey. You are born in a very particular situation, to a very particular family and face very particular struggles; You are the hero of this story.

Jungian therapy reminds us that we are connected to something larger and deeper than our personal everyday experience; it connects the personal story with the collective story.

Internal Family Systems and how it totally overlaps with Jungian therapy

There are many ways that IFS and Jungian theory overlap. In Jungian theory, the ‘parts’ are called ‘complexes’ and are also the result of trauma and re-occurring negative experiences. In both theories, the ‘Self’ is the same—it is your innate nature—who you are at your core. Both theories believe that we have an innate drive towards wholeness. In IFS, the archetypes are sometimes seen as ‘inner guides.’ In both Jungian and IFS approaches you can enter a mindfulness state and converse with the parts or complexes.

To learn more about IFS check out my blog about it: IFS

Psychedelics

Jungian themes such as the collective unconscious and archetypes can emerge in altered states. Psychedelics often will conjure up these themes as well as any repressed material—the shadow. The ancients have been using altered states to access the spiritual aspects of nature for millennia.

If you have any questions or want to hear more about Jungian Therapy—feel free to reach out!