• WHAT IS JUNGIAN ANALYSIS?

• WHAT DO YOU DO IN ANALYTIC SESSIONS?

• IS JUNGIAN ANALYSIS FOR YOU?

• WHY DO PEOPLE ENGAGE IN JUNGIAN ANALYSIS?

• HOW LONG DOES ANALYSIS TAKE?

WHAT IS JUNGIAN ANALYSIS?

This a complex question to deal with! Analysis encompasses a wide range of psychotherapeutic experiences, the core of which is the gradual conscious awareness of the unconscious in particular, and the psyche in general. In analysis, as Jung says, we confront the unconscious.

Analysis is essentially a continued series of dialogues, between two people but more crucially, between the psyche's of two people. This dialogue occurs not only between the two persons in the analytic setting but also within the psyches of each. We all have within us the power and wisdom for change, and it is through analysis that we encounter this strength and wisdom to make the change.

Only 2,500 analysts worldwide practice Jungian analysis. One of the core reasons for the low numbers of analysts is that the training is extensive, and takes a great deal of time and resources. An analyst has to endure hundreds of hours of individual Jungian analysis him or herself as well as extensive work on developing familiarity with a wide range of subject fields to achieve a thorough working knowledge of what it is to be human.

Jungian analysis is the therapeutic modality that follows from the work of its founder, Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist. Jung worked with Freud in the earlier phase of his career, yet it is from Jung that we have concepts that have pervaded our culture (therapeutically, in literature, in art and in clinical work) such as "individuation," "collective unconscious," "archetype", "introvert and extravert," "shadow" and "anima and animus."

Central to a Jungian analysis is the interpretation of dreams. Freud felt that dreams were the "royal road to the unconscious". Jungians hold to the same idea yet add the notion of the complex as having the same value. Why analyse dreams? In terms of the structure of the psyche, Jung argued that the unconscious has a dialectical relationship with consciousness, in particular, the ego. This means that the products of the unconscious (dreams, symbols, imagery, phantasy etc) are responses to the ego's attitude. It is as if the ego's attitude towards the individual and culture create a one-sided pole, the opposite end of which is the unconscious. A dream then is not simply a "protector of sleep" as Freud argued, but a layer of experiential material that can be drawn upon to balance the one-sidedness of the ego. In analyzing dreams, we bring this unconscious material to the awareness of the ego and in so doing, gradually alter the ego's stance. Unlike Freud who saw dreams as wish-fulfillments, Jungians feel that dreams compensate for the ego's stance and offer a different point of view for the psyche as a whole. Dreams then act as critiques, as alternative positions, as guides or roadmaps to a richer conscious life.

My experience in my own analysis is that the dream presents me with a play, often in many acts and with a myriad of scenes. The dream tells me how things are, have been or could become. The idea that dreams can tell me how things may become is a crucial idea in analysis - this is the roadmap that I can choose to listen to to lead me to a more balanced life. Jung called this the prospective function of the dream.

Unconscious material is dealt with in three ways in analysis: these are explication, amplification and active imagination.

Briefly, explication involves interpreting unconscious material, making it clear and naming it. A common challenge we all face is that we may often take a dream symbol and interpret it is a sign i.e. a stick means this, or an apple means that. Jung felt that this thrashes the meaning out of the symbol and reduces it to a dictionary entry. Crucial here is to understand what the symbol implies for the dreamer - how does it fit into their experience, the life, their understanding of themselves. A symbol may be a concrete example of something that has to be deal with or it may be a "disguised" representation of an issue.

In amplification we expand on these images or symbols, finding ways to make sense of how this symbol we have just dreamt has meaning for us. Amplification draws on how the symbol is used in culture i.e. how does this symbol appear in myth, in fairy tales, in religious worship. It is here that we draw on our knowledge of the archetypes, because the symbol is an archetypal representation.

There is no one definition of a symbol, rather we have to pay attention to how we relate to the symbol. After this, we can turn to a symbol dictionary for additional help. As an example, try to develop your own ideas about the following symbols, and then see what a symbol dictionary has to say - you are often far more accurate than you imagine:

• water symbol
  fire symbol
  animal symbol
  wave symbol
  earth symbol
  tree symbol
  garden symbol
  alchemical symbols
  symbols of the zodiac

Lastly, we can engage in active imagination with dream material in which I allow myself to slip into a meditative state, gently have the ego stay present but not directing the process and re-enter the unconscious pole of the material of the dream. I converse with the unconscious material of the dream and see where it leads me.

In addition, we often deal with our complexes in dream interpretation - mother complex, father complex, money complex, power complex, education complex, performance complex are but to name a few.

A powerful summation of the ideas presented above is that of Murray Stein who describes Jungian analysis as:

"Jungian analysis, which takes place in a dialectical relationship between analyst and analysand, has for its goal the analysand's movement toward psychological wholeness. This transformation of the personality requires coming to terms with the unconscious, its specific structures and their dynamic relations to consciousness as these become available during the course of analysis. Transformation also depends upon the significant modification of the unconscious structures that shape and control ego-consciousness at the beginning of analysis, a change that takes place through the constellation of archetypal structures and dynamics in the interactive field between analyst and analysand" (1995, p. 33).

WHAT DO YOU DO IN ANALYTIC SESSIONS?

Each client and analyst has a different approach to sessions but in general the following occurs: the client talks about their week in terms of the material dealt with over the past sessions; dream interpretation; how the dream material relates to the client's life and core issues; discussions of how the analytic relationship is developing; and, exploration of unconscious material through drawing, painting or some other projective technique.

Even though the above describes what may occur, many clients experience their analysis in a substantially different manner: some never bring dreams to the sessions; others may choose not to deal with material in projective art form. There is no rule - the sessions happen as they need to happen for the client on that day and at that time.

This "no rule" attitude may be unsettling to some, yet it has its roots in a fundamental attitude towards the psyche within Jungian theory - you cannot dictate to the psyche what it has to do, as the psyche has within itself the inherent wisdom that it requires to unfold the personality in an appropriate way. Whitmont states this well:

"Eventually the unconscious will begin to provide not only descriptions of the existing impasse but also positive suggestions for possibilities of development which could reconcile the opposing positions, showing us what avenues of development are available to us, what paths are required of us or closed to us, according to the inherent plan of the Self" (1969, p. 294).

IS JUNGIAN ANALYSIS FOR YOU?

Not everyone is suitable for Jungian analysis, and the process is not a guaranteed panacea for all of life's ills. There are a few central issues that are important for you if you choose to enter into analysis.

You value the unconscious in that you have a strong sense that the unconscious is "bigger than you" and that it has something of great value for your life.

You want to increase your level of conscious awareness of your psyche.

You are brave enough and honest enough with yourself to confront your psychic material.

WHY DO PEOPLE ENGAGE IN JUNGIAN ANALYSIS?

There are many reasons to begin an analysis. You may be experiencing a disconnect, a sense of disunity with yourself, often as the result of difficulties in your life such and anxiety, depression, addiction, grief and loss.

You have a sense of meaninglessness - Is this all there is to my existence or is there something greater? It is at this stage that many realize that our sense of meaning can no longer be satisfied from the outside (new marriage, new job, new house etc) but that it has to be answered from within.

You are searching for a deeper sense of spirituality.

You realize that the most powerful change aspect of your being is already within you and you want to search this aspect out and incorporate it into you life.

HOW LONG DOES ANALYSIS TAKE?

There is no standard rule of thumb. Analysis deals with the needs and goals of the client, so it may be of a short-term or long-term nature. Many people enter into analysis to deal with a pressing life-problem, which, once recognized and changed, allows for a deeper confrontation with the psyche.

Jungian analysis, although a distinct school of depth psychology, has no prescriptions - analysis is essentially the encounters of the psyche within and with the psyche of another.

Analysis occurs in face-to-face meetings between the client and the analyst. These meetings are usually once a week but often may occur more frequently than that.

• Common issues that are encountered in a Jungian Analysis may include:
  depression,
  anxiety,
  phobias,
  addictions,
  relationships,
  complexes,
  archetypes,
  mid-life issues or mid-life-crisis in men,
  mid-life issues or mid-life crisis in women