Jungian analysis / therapy, what do you think?

[Jungiandungian]

Has anyone been through or experienced Jungian analysis therapy?

I’m intrigued and have been considering whether to try this out for myself as I’m a t a bit of a crossroads in mid-life and wonder if this sort of therapy might help me make some decisions and take some action in my life.

My sense is that’s it’s quite a traditional type of talking therapy, which on the surface sort of puts me off a bit, but equally it appears you need to be very well qualified to practice, which is appealing.

Would like to hear thoughts from experiences - whether good or bad or in between.

Bump..

I'll be honest, I'd wonder why anyone capable of that level of training had picked Jungian therapy to qualify in, instead of something with an evidence base.

I’d love some Jungian therapy, I find it fascinating. But I’m not sure it’s necessarily the best if you want a quick fix- it’s a long process so maybe not right if you want help with decision making now.

Have you read The Middle Passage by James Hollis. It’s a really wonderful book and a Jungian approach to mid life changes.

You make an interesting point and I don’t disagree with you on some levels.

I suppose if I am honest, this is something I am wrestling with, as I have read up on the negatives around this type of traditional therapy and realise there is not a wealth of supporting evidence to it’s effectiveness. That said, many people seem to get something from it.

All the same, I do find it quite fascinating, but perhaps I am romanticising the idea of lying on a couch and being educated about my psyche! (Do they really still use couches I wonder?!)

I do also wonder if it would end up being a bit of an expensive navel-gazing exercise where I would end up with more questions than answers.

As you can probably tell, I am a little undecided!

I haven’t read that, will look it up, thank you.

I’m not necessarily looking for a quick fix, I’d like to get know ‘know myself’ better I suppose. I do feel like I’ve been a bit of a drifter in life in some ways.

I’d go for a Rogerian which is Carl Rogers who uses Jungian as a basis

You called? 😁

I've had a lot of therapy over the years and every therapist has had a couch but I've always sat in a chair. I've always wondered what you had to do to get the couch.

My longest period of therapy (2 1/2 years) was psychoanalytic psychotherapy which basically saved my life.

I occasionally go again to someone who does eclectic - basically more than one school and she moves to what is working for you. There's a lot of CBT in there.

Rogerians are the best combination of what I call “the 2 Carls”

I had a Rogerian for 6 years here in London but he retired. I would love to get a Rogerian therapist.

I have no experience personally but a close family member was acutely unwell and for some reason would only see this therapist. We were all very confused because surely the therapist could see how acutely unwell they were; and yet they never suggested to see a psychiatrist, psychologist or any other avenues for help.

So after a few months of this we did some digging and it was a jungian analyst therapist.

So that’s my only exposure. But I came away with the impression the corner shop man was more likely to recognise mental illness and signpost appropriate direction than this supposedly highly trained therapist.

Which is quite a harsh review. But it was awful watching someone so unwell not getting the help they needed and being strung along.

I second James Hollis’ book

Also there’s a fantastic episode of the podcast, This Jungian Life, which deals with the midlife period. The podcast itself is great anyway, but that episode might be a good one for you - and to decide whether Jungian analysis is for you

I’m a fan. I think it’s way better than the crap that psychology is pushing these days.

thisjungianlife.com/episode-112-midlife-crisis-renewal-or-stagnation/

I've done Jungian analysis, 2 x weekly. There are 2 schools in the UK; classic Jungian, which might venture more into symbolism, dream work, and Psychoanalytic Jungian, which works with psychoanalytic & Jungian concepts - the latter analyst might use a couch. If you want to use the couch, you just ask - the couch can increase the depth of the work. I've found it quite intense and preferred seeing the therapist face to face.

It really changed my life. I am able to be and have a much stronger sense of self. It hasn't "fixed" things necessarily but I've developed a better understanding of myself and my issues and an acceptance I guess - so those issues don't affect me as much.

There are so many great Jungian ideas, like the shadow (knowing & accepting the darker sides of ourselves), individuation, archetypes, complexes.

It wasn't a walk in the park by any means but my life feels so much richer. The most important thing is to find a therapist/analyst who is a good fit, you need to click with him/her.

I did psychoanalysis for 12 (!!!!!!) years

It was very helpful (I had a very emotionally damaging childhood) for the first 5/6 years and then was less productive

I think modern analyses go on far too long and analysts have zero motivation to wrap things up unfortunately

I was never unwell/depressed/mentally ill and I think there are better treatments for that

I think in your case you might be embarking on expensive navel gazing, but it sounds like this might actually be your goal so if you can afford it then why not

Also agree with PP about finding the fit: it can be challenging

Oh, now you’ve opened up another rabbit hole! What’s your experience with this type of therapy/analysis?

Sorry about your family member, I hope they are in a better place now.

I do wonder if this sort of thing happens more than one would think. These highly trained intellectual analysts could also end up being quite self-serving and manipulative, given the ‘right’ set of circumstances and if someone was in real emotional or mental distress.

For what it’s worth, I am not worried for myself on that front, but it certainly gives pause. I remember reading on here an ongoing thread where a husband had more or less ‘lost’ his wife to a therapist who had seemingly brought back locked away memories of CSA, that didn’t seem to match up to anything in her history or childhood.

These people can wield a lot of power in some cases.

Thank you, this sounds very interesting, I will definitely listen to it.

How wonderful that you’ve had such a positive experience.

Can I ask how you found your therapist? Was it a personal recommendation or did you have to try out a few to find a good fit?

Wow, 12 years! You must be very well versed in how this works. Was it Jungian analysis you had or something else?

I do wonder if I just feel a bit lost in my (mid) life and am looking for some direction (in the wrong places?!).

I could afford to do it, which makes me very lucky, but then I wonder if I am potentially ‘barking up the wrong tree’ and using it as another distraction from just ‘doing life’.

Thanks for asking. I saw this explanation of Carl Rogers and really this for me captured it beautifully.

(Rogerian is the best of Jung with the personal non-couch experience I think you’re looking for)

Carl Rogers was the originator of the Person-Centered Approach, which encompasses more than therapy and has, in recent years, become very popular in humanistic circles. His fundamental model suggested that as a bare minimum, and perhaps all that was needed, for people to heal themselves, was a radically genuine and respectful way of relating. Authenticity and a relationship of unconditional positive regard have emerged since then as the 'sine qua non' of therapeutic relating. Indeed these days psychotherapists of all traditions accept that the quality of the relationship is primary in successful therapeutic outcomes.

I hope this helps give you an idea of what it is like!

Thank you for sharing that quote. It certainly makes learning more about the Carl Rogers ‘approach’ more appealing.

Do you mind me asking if you’ve had success with this yourself?

I did. I was 40 depressed, lost in my life and wanted to resolve the depression and find my authentic self to live my best life.

It sounds like it has worked well for you, kudos!

I agree with this. In my experience, no therapist will ever say "you're done, go and enjoy life". Which ends up keeping the client from living life fully because they're still hanging off the therapist's apron strings so to speak. But with that in mind, knowing you are free to go whenever you want to, there is no harm in trying - find a therapist and give it a go!

I don't work like that at all, I work towards a ending unless it is agreed that it is long term, even then we set a time line and review often.
I do loads of work in short term and have delivered one off therapy that can be very helpful.
I work in a way that suits my clients and tbh I don't have time to schedule therapy every week for years for myself so I'd never expect clients to.
Got to say though I did love learning Jungian therapy and when you are a integrative therapist you can pick bits that may be useful to your client and use them.