Difference between revisions of "Analytical psychology" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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In Jungian psychology, the psyche is divided into three parts: the [[ego]] or conscious mind; the personal unconscious, which includes the individual memories which are not currently conscious but which can be brought back into consciousness; and the collective unconscious, which contains the "psychic inheritance" of human experience stored in the form of archetypes and revealed in dreams  and other [[mysticism|mystical]] experiences, and in the [[symbol]]ism found in myths.
 
In Jungian psychology, the psyche is divided into three parts: the [[ego]] or conscious mind; the personal unconscious, which includes the individual memories which are not currently conscious but which can be brought back into consciousness; and the collective unconscious, which contains the "psychic inheritance" of human experience stored in the form of archetypes and revealed in dreams  and other [[mysticism|mystical]] experiences, and in the [[symbol]]ism found in myths.
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Jung described the operation of the psyche according to three principles:
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*The '''principle of opposites''': the energy of the psyche comes from the contrast between two opposite thoughts or desires, as [[electricity|electric]] current flows between the two poles of a [[battery]].
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*The '''principle of equivalence''': the energy available to the opposing thoughts is equal, but one is fulfilled and the other is not. If you acknowledge your opposite thought the energy is used to help your psyche grow; if you deny it, the energy goes into a [[Analytical psychology#Complex|complex]] that develops around an [[Analytical psychology#Archetypes|archetype]].
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* The '''principle of entropy''': similar to the concept of entropy in [[physics]], there is a tendency for energy to become evenly distributed. In the case of the psyche, as we grow older extreme differences, such as masculine and feminine, become less extreme and we better acknowledge or "transcend" the opposite tendencies in us leading to a more balanced and stable personality.
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Thus, according to this model, the goal of life is to transcend the opposites within one's psyche and develop a balanced personality or [[self]], in which every aspect, conscious and unconscious, personal and collective, is expressed and harmonized.
  
 
==Key Terms==
 
==Key Terms==
  
===The personal unconscious===
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===Personal unconscious===
 
{{Main|Unconscious}}
 
{{Main|Unconscious}}
  
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Perhaps the most important archetype would be what Jung termed the "[[self]]." It could be described as the ultimate pattern of psychological life. The self can be characterized as both the totality of the [[personality]], conscious and unconscious, and the process of becoming the whole personality. It can be described as both the goal of one's psychological life and that which pulls one toward it.
 
Perhaps the most important archetype would be what Jung termed the "[[self]]." It could be described as the ultimate pattern of psychological life. The self can be characterized as both the totality of the [[personality]], conscious and unconscious, and the process of becoming the whole personality. It can be described as both the goal of one's psychological life and that which pulls one toward it.
  
===The complex===
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===Complex===
  
 
A complex is a pattern of suppressed [[thought]]s and [[feeling]]s that cluster—constellate—around a theme provided by some [[archetype]]. A complex is an [[emotion]]ally charged group of ideas or images, and may also be called a "feeling-toned idea" that accumulates over the years around certain archetypes, such as the mother, wise man, or child. [[Sigmund Freud]]'s [[Oedipus complex]] is a clear example. Complexes can interfere with the intentions of the will, and disturb the [[memory]] and [[conscious]] performance. They can also be compared to the "splinter psyches," described by other [[Psychopathology|psychopathologists]], whose origins spring from a trauma, an emotional shock for instance, that causes a split in the psyche.  
 
A complex is a pattern of suppressed [[thought]]s and [[feeling]]s that cluster—constellate—around a theme provided by some [[archetype]]. A complex is an [[emotion]]ally charged group of ideas or images, and may also be called a "feeling-toned idea" that accumulates over the years around certain archetypes, such as the mother, wise man, or child. [[Sigmund Freud]]'s [[Oedipus complex]] is a clear example. Complexes can interfere with the intentions of the will, and disturb the [[memory]] and [[conscious]] performance. They can also be compared to the "splinter psyches," described by other [[Psychopathology|psychopathologists]], whose origins spring from a trauma, an emotional shock for instance, that causes a split in the psyche.  

Revision as of 18:13, 21 March 2006


Analytical psychology is the movement started by Carl Jung and his followers, after his break with Sigmund Freud. It primarily explores how the collective unconscious, that part of the unconscious that is cross-cultural and common to all human beings, influences personality. It is utilized not only for those with a mental disorder, but also for those who desire to promote their own psychological development and well-being.

Jungian psychology

Carl Jung's work, known as Jungian psychology, is central to Analytical psychology (the "Neopsychoanalytic school"). The goal of Analytical or Jungian psychology is to explore the unconscious, both personal and collective, and integrate the conscious and unconscious through a variety of disciplines and psychological methods. Jung believed the unconscious to be a great guide, friend and advisor of the conscious mind. His goal was the reconciliation of the life of the individual with the world of the supra-personal archetypes. He came to see the individual's encounter with the unconscious as central to this process.

Jung's approach to psychology emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of anthropology, astrology, alchemy, dreams, art, mythology, religion, and philosophy. Jung once said that just as a biologist needs the science of comparative anatomy, a psychologist needs the experience and knowledge of the products of unconscious activity and mythology.

In Jungian psychology, the psyche is divided into three parts: the ego or conscious mind; the personal unconscious, which includes the individual memories which are not currently conscious but which can be brought back into consciousness; and the collective unconscious, which contains the "psychic inheritance" of human experience stored in the form of archetypes and revealed in dreams and other mystical experiences, and in the symbolism found in myths.

Jung described the operation of the psyche according to three principles:

  • The principle of opposites: the energy of the psyche comes from the contrast between two opposite thoughts or desires, as electric current flows between the two poles of a battery.
  • The principle of equivalence: the energy available to the opposing thoughts is equal, but one is fulfilled and the other is not. If you acknowledge your opposite thought the energy is used to help your psyche grow; if you deny it, the energy goes into a complex that develops around an archetype.
  • The principle of entropy: similar to the concept of entropy in physics, there is a tendency for energy to become evenly distributed. In the case of the psyche, as we grow older extreme differences, such as masculine and feminine, become less extreme and we better acknowledge or "transcend" the opposite tendencies in us leading to a more balanced and stable personality.

Thus, according to this model, the goal of life is to transcend the opposites within one's psyche and develop a balanced personality or self, in which every aspect, conscious and unconscious, personal and collective, is expressed and harmonized.

Key Terms

Personal unconscious

Main article: Unconscious

Analytical psychology distinguishes between a personal and a collective unconscious. The basic assumption is that the personal unconscious is a potent part—probably the more active part—of the normal human psyche. Reliable communication between the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche is necessary for happiness.

Also crucial is the belief that dreams show ideas, beliefs, and feelings of which individuals may not be readily aware, but need to be, and that such material is expressed in a personalized vocabulary of visual metaphors. Things "known but unknown" are contained in the unconscious, and dreams are one of the main vehicles for the unconscious to express them.

Collective unconscious

The term "Collective unconscious" was originally coined by Carl Jung. It refers to that part of a person's unconscious which is common to all human beings. Jung took on the task of exploring and attempting to discern the mysteries stored in the collective unconscious. He discovered that certain symbolic themes existed across all cultures, all epochs, and in every individual. Together these symbolic themes comprise "the archetypes of the collective unconscious."

We experience the unconscious through symbols encountered in all aspects of life: in dreams, art, religion, and the symbolic dramas we enact in our relationships and life pursuits. Essential to the encounter with the unconscious, and the reconciliation of the individual's consciousness with this broader world, is learning this symbolic language. A major tool used to communicate with the unconscious is through dream analysis. Dreams, in Analytical psychology, are considered an integral, important, and personal expression of the individual's unconscious through symbols and archetypes.

Archetypes

Main article: Archetype

The term "archetype" can be understood as quite similar to—and was probably directly influenced by—Kant's "categories" of understanding and Plato's "forms" or "ideas." According to Jung's original structural view, archetypes are conceived of as sorts of psychological organs, directly analogous to our physical, bodily organs: both being morphological givens for the species; both arising at least partially through evolutionary processes.

Current thinking in Analytical psychology has explored nearly diametrically opposing paths. Some have pursued deeply structural views, along the lines of complexity theory in mathematics; others, most notably James Hillman's Archetypal school, have tried to work in a post-structuralist way.

Perhaps the most important archetype would be what Jung termed the "self." It could be described as the ultimate pattern of psychological life. The self can be characterized as both the totality of the personality, conscious and unconscious, and the process of becoming the whole personality. It can be described as both the goal of one's psychological life and that which pulls one toward it.

Complex

A complex is a pattern of suppressed thoughts and feelings that cluster—constellate—around a theme provided by some archetype. A complex is an emotionally charged group of ideas or images, and may also be called a "feeling-toned idea" that accumulates over the years around certain archetypes, such as the mother, wise man, or child. Sigmund Freud's Oedipus complex is a clear example. Complexes can interfere with the intentions of the will, and disturb the memory and conscious performance. They can also be compared to the "splinter psyches," described by other psychopathologists, whose origins spring from a trauma, an emotional shock for instance, that causes a split in the psyche.

Jung seemed to see complexes as quite autonomous parts of psychological life. He stressed that complexes are not negative in themselves, but their effects often are. The possession of complexes does not in itself cause neurosis, but the denial of their existence causes the complex to become pathological. Likewise, identification with a complex is a frequent source of neurosis. The key in analysis is not to get rid of the complexes—but to minimize their negative effects by understanding the part they play in behavior patterns and emotional reactions.

Individuation

Individuation occurs when the conscious and unconscious have learned to live at peace and to complement one another. This process leads an individual to become whole, integrated, calm and happy. Jung believed that individuation was a natural process of maturation inherent in the nature of human beings, and was not only an analytic process. The encounter between consciousness and the symbols arising from the unconscious enriches life and promotes psychological development.

Jung pioneered this process of individuation in his work with the middle-aged and elderly, especially those who felt their lives had lost meaning. He helped them to view their lives from the perspective of history, religion and spirituality. Many of these patients had lost their religious beliefs; Jung found that if they could rediscover their own meaning as expressed in dream and imagination, as well as through the exploration of mythology and religion, they would become more complete personalities. To undergo this individuation process, individuals must allow themselves to be open to the parts of themselves beyond their own ego and when necessary question the assumptions of the operant societal worldview (rather than just blindly live life in accordance with dominant norms and assumptions).

Individuation also takes on an expanded meaning: it is a dialectical process concerned with the development of wholeness. In Jung's opinion the spontaneously produced symbols representing this cannot be distinguished from the God-image. Thus individuation became identified with religious or spiritual development.

Neurosis

Main article: Psychoneurosis

If a person does not proceed toward individuation, neurotic symptoms may arise. Symptoms are widely defined, including, for instance, phobias, fetishism, and depression. Symptoms are interpreted to be similar to dreams in that there is a concealed meaning in the apparently useless symptom.

"Neurosis" results from a disharmony between the individual's consciousness and the greater archetypal world. The aim of psychotherapy is to assist the individual in reestablishing a healthy relationship to the unconscious (neither being swamped by it—a state characteristic of psychosis—nor completely shut off from it—a state that results in malaise, empty consumerism, narcissism, and a life cut off from deeper meaning).

Synchronicity

Synchronicity is defined as two simultaneous events that occur coincidentally, that are not causally related but result in meaningful connection. Syncronicity is also defined as the meaningful coincidence of an inner image with an outer event which can often let one see the world in a new light, especially if one responds very deeply, with the full involvement of his or her being to the meaning of the event.

Synchronicity often occurs in the patient-therapist relationship and can cause psychological transformation when experienced, but it is not confined there. There is also evidence for sychronicity in the I Ching, astrology, alchemy, and Parapsychology.

Psychological types

Analytical psychology distinguishes several psychological types or temperaments. In order to better understand ourselves we need to understand the way we characteristically perceive, and then act upon, information. Jung identified two core psychological processes that he termed "extravert" (as originally spelled by Jung and considered a variant of the word "extrovert" in the Merriam Webster Dictionary) and "introvert." In Jung's original usage, the extravert orientation finds meaning outside the self, preferring the external world of things and people and activities. The introvert is introspective and finds meaning within, preferring the internal world of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and dreams.

Jung also identified four primary modes of experiencing the world, which he termed the four functions: sensing, thinking, intuiting, and feeling. Broadly speaking, we tend to work from our most developed function, while we need to broaden our personality by developing the other less developed functions.

These "type preferences" are inborn and not socially constructed through interaction with parents, family, culture and other external influences. Even so, the individual is impacted in the quality and strength of the development in her or his preferences. Nature and nurture are both at play. A supportive environment will support and facilitate inborn preference development; a contrary environment will impede or retard the natural development of inborn preferences. The mental health problems of many left-handed children forced to be right-handed appear similar to what often occurs for people "forced" into a non-preferred mode of personal orientation.

Comparison: Psychoanalysis and Analytical Psychology

Main article: Psychoanalysis

Analysis is a way to experience and integrate the unknown material. It is a search for the meaning of behaviors, symptoms, events. Many are the channels to reach this greater self-knowledge. The analysis of dreams is the most common. Others may include expressing feelings in art works, poetry or other expressions of creativity.

Giving a complete description of the process of dream interpretation and individuation is complex. While Freudian psychoanalysis assumes that the repressed material hidden in the unconscious is given by repressed sexual instincts, Analytical psychology has a more general approach. There is no preconceived assumption about the unconscious material. The unconscious, for Jungian analysts, may contain repressed sexual drives, but also aspirations, fears, as well as archetypes of the collective unconscious.

Clinical theories

Main article: Clinical_psychology

Jung started his career working with hospitalized patients with major mental illnesses, most notably schizophrenia. He was interested in the possibilities of an unknown "brain toxin" that could be the cause of schizophrenia. Jung hypothesized a medical basis for schizophrenia that was beyond the understanding of the medical science of his day. It perhaps can best be said that schizophrenia is both medical and psychological, that is to say, as theorists and scientists, we may be able to say that schizophrenia happens on the genetic and electrochemical levels, but for one who has schizophrenia it also exists in their mind and experience.

It is important to note that Jung himself seemed to see his work not as a complete psychology in itself, but as his unique contribution to the field. Jung claimed late in his career that for only about a third of his patients did he use "Jungian analysis." For another third, Freudian psychoanalysis seemed to best suit the patient's needs, and for the final third Adlerian analysis was most appropriate. In fact, it seems that most contemporary Jungian clinicians merge a developmentally grounded theory, such as Self psychology, with Jungian theories in order to have a "whole" theoretical repertoire to do actual clinical work.

The "I" or Ego is tremendously important to Jung's clinical work. Jung's theory of etiology of psychopathology can be simplified to an overly rigid conscious attitude towards the whole of the psyche. That is, a psychotic episode can be seen from a Jungian perspective as the "rest" of the psyche overwhelming the conscious Ego, because the Ego was effectively locking out and repressing the psyche as a whole.

John Weir Perry's psychological description of a psychotic episode, recounted in his book The Farside of Madness, explores and fleshes out this idea of Jung's very well.

Post-Jung

Samuels (1985) has distinguished three schools of "post-Jungian" therapy: the classical, the developmental and the archetypal. In addition, Depth psychology is strongly influenced by Jung, with contributions from Freud, James Hillman and Alfred Adler.

Classical school

The classical school is that which tries to remain faithful to what Jung himself proposed and taught in person and in his 20-plus volumes of work. There are evolutions within the classical school, however the focus is on the self and individuation.

Developmental school

The developmental school, which has a focus on the importance of infancy in the evolution of adult personality and character, and an equally stringent emphasis on the analysis of transference-countertransference dynamics in clinical work. The developmental school, associated with Michael Fordham, Brian Feldman, and others, has a very close relationship with psychoanalysis and can be considered a bridge between Jungian analysis and Melanie Klein's "object relations theory."

Archetypal school

Archetypal Psychology was founded by James Hillman, considered one of the most original psychologists of the twentieth century. He trained at the Jung Institute in Zurich, and acknowledges that Archetypal psychology originated with Jung, although developed in a somewhat different direction. Whereas Jung’s psychology focused on the Self, its dynamics and its constellations of archetypes (ego, anima, animus, shadow), Hillman’s Archetypal psychology relativizes and deliteralizes the ego and focuses on the psyche, or soul, itself and the "archai," the deepest patterns of psychic functioning, "the fundamental fantasies that animate all life".

Other contributors to the archetypal school (sometimes called "the imaginal school"), include Clarissa Pinkola Estés, who views ethnic and aboriginal people as the originators of archetypal psychology who have long carried the maps to the journey of the soul in their songs, tales, dream-telling, art and rituals; and Marion Woodman, who proposes a feminist viewpoint regarding archetypal psychology. Robert L. Moore, one of Jung's most dedicated followers, has explored the archetypal level of the human psyche in a series of five books co-authored with Douglas Gillette. Moore likens the archetypal level of the human psyche to the hard wiring of a computer, while our personalized ego consciousness is likened to the software.

Most mythopoeticists/archetypal psychology innovators either imagine the Self not to be the main archetype of the collective unconscious as Jung thought, but rather assign each archetype equal value. Some think of the Self as that which contains, and yet is suffused by, all the other archetypes, each giving life to the other.

Depth Psychology

Main article: Depth psychology

Depth psychology is a broad term that refers to any psychological approach examining the depth (the hidden or deeper parts) of human experience. It is strongly influenced by the work of Carl Jung, especially his emphasis on questions of psyche, human development and personality development (or individuation).

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Jung, C. G., & Campbell, J. 1976. The Portable Jung. New York, NY: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140150706.
  • Jung, C. G., & Storr, Antony. 1983. The Essential Jung. a compilation, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691024553.
  • Samuels, Andrew. 1986. Jung and the Post-Jungians. London: Routledge. ISBN 0710208642.

External links


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