Jungian Oriented Therapy

What is Jungian Therapy?

Jungian therapy is an approach to counseling that seeks to help us get in touch with who we really are. It is based on the teachings of the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, who taught that the highest aspiration in life is self-realization.

Jung believed that life is a spiritual journey filled with deep meaning and substance. Yet throughout our lives, there are many emotional challenges that prevent us from achieving personal and spiritual growth. Many of these challenges are unconscious—we aren’t even aware of them in daily life. Jungian therapy is all about making the unconscious conscious, allowing us to recognize the hidden elements and the masks and pretenses that hold us back from self-realization.

Who is Carl Jung?

Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a student of the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Although Freud had a significant influence on Jung’s life, Jung eventually broke away from Freud’s teachings because of a fundamental disagreement about human psychology. Freud saw human psychology as made up of biological drives. All our actions, he believed, were based on our desire for things like sex and power.

Jung didn’t deny these biological drives, but he believed there was more to the picture. Jung believed that deep within us lies a yearning for wholeness and spirituality. This yearning influences our lives as much as our basic biological desires. It’s what causes us to seek meaning in our dreams, create great works of art, and try to find a higher purpose to our lives. As a result, Jungian therapy often incorporates art-making into the healing process and explores the deeper symbolism within our dreams.

How Effective Is Jungian Therapy?

Today, the Jungian world of psychotherapy is an enormous field of research and exploration that goes far beyond the teachings of Carl Jung. There have been numerous studies on the Jungian approach’s effectiveness. According to a 2013 study done by psychoanalyst Christian Roesler, Jungian therapy not only helps with symptom relief, but also helps with personality development and everyday behavior¹. Even health insurance data shows that, after people try Jungian therapy, their need for healthcare utilization usually decreases².

In my own experience, I have witnessed this approach’s ability to liberate people from numerous mental health struggles. Jungian therapy can help with depression, anxiety, anger, addiction, and even food-related health issues. The reason Jungian therapy is helpful for so many conditions is that every mental health struggle is influenced by unconscious factors. Thus, understanding how the unconscious impacts your daily life makes it easier to control your symptoms.

How Does Jungian Therapy Work?

Ultimately, Jungian psychotherapy seeks to restore your connection to your Higher Self—the part of you that craves deeper meaning and spiritual fulfillment. This connection is achieved through the relationship between client and therapist, the exploration of dreams, and/or the use of the creative arts. The goal is to accomplish what Carl Jung would call individuation—the process of stripping away outside influences that no longer serve you and becoming who you are based on your own deepest sense of self and experiences. 

The first step in achieving individuation is getting to know your unconscious and understanding its effect on you. Together, you and I will explore the unconscious themes that are being played out in your life. For instance, let’s suppose you grew up with a very overbearing or overprotective parent. As a result, you may find yourself unconsciously drawn to romantic partners who are just like your parent. Your relationships may all feel the same—yet without exploring your unconscious, you may not know why. Jungian therapy can help you pick up on the whys in your relationships. It’s a chance to unearth the hidden patterns in your life and break out of them. 

The great thing about Jungian therapy is that it’s a long-term approach and goes deeper than most of the general approaches to talk therapy. Instead of just relieving your symptoms or slapping a Band-aid on them, Jungian therapy can help you understand the meaning behind your symptoms and why they keep occurring. Once you gain this self-awareness, it becomes easier to achieve a sense of wholeness and find meaning in life. 

Using Art Therapy To Explore The Unconscious

Art is central to my therapeutic approach and often works very well in tandem with Jungian therapy. After all, art stems from unconscious processes, so it has the ability to reveal deeper truths about your condition. If you’re drawing in a series of very rapid lines, that could be a sign of anxious energy held deep within. Or if you’re painting with dark, somber colors, that may be a sign of some unresolved grief or sadness. Through the use of art materials, you and I can explore what’s going on under the surface and learn new things about your state of mind. 

What’s more, you get to choose what art form you want to use in sessions. You’re welcome to draw, paint, use photography, or even build with clay. It’s all about finding what art form speaks to you the most and brings you a sense of fulfillment.

Jungian Therapy Can Help You Dig Under The Surface And Create New Meaning In Life

I became interested in the works of Carl Jung at a very young age. I have always been a seeker of knowledge, and the more I lived, the more his works appealed to me. His philosophy incorporates dreams, astrology, intuition, spirituality, shamanism, the natural sciences, and so many different cultural influences. As a therapist, I have found that the Jungian approach works well for clients who are really trying to dig under the surface and arrive at a higher sense of purpose.

If you would like to experience the healing power of Jungian therapy for yourself, I encourage you to connect with me. To get started, you can call me at 917-819-5014 or use the contact form to schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation. 

¹ Behavioral Sciences | Free Full-Text | Evidence for the Effectiveness of Jungian Psychotherapy: A Review of Empirical Studies (mdpi.com)
² Behavioral Sciences | Free Full-Text | Evidence for the Effectiveness of Jungian Psychotherapy: A Review of Empirical Studies (mdpi.com)

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