Kriss Light's
Garden Gates in
Jungian Therapy
C. G. Jung
ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and colleague of Sigmund Freud, parted ways with Freud largely because of a differing of opinions on "Libido." The word itself, the understanding, the interpretations.
Freud felt "Libido" primarily covered Sexuality and Aggression only.
Jung understood "Libido" could be expressed in multiple ways including: Sexuality, Creativity, Intellect, Physical Endeavor, Aggression and Spirituality. Jung's clinical studies with word association testing, proved to him the unconscious holds the expression of this energy. He understood 'repressive' patterns of feelings and experiences are what gets 'blocked' when we are suffering from childhoods either too traumatic or painful to recall.
Emotional repression uses up an inordinate amount of psychological libido, which then gets absorbed into the unconscious. Rather than being available for use, it can create Depression, Addiction, Compulsions, Somatic Disorders and much more, as it takes hold.
The work in Jungian Therapy is to bring the vital experiences and feelings up into our conscious Selves, thereby freeing up the unavailable energy which can then create a more healthy and cohesive psychology within the individual.
THERAPY
In Jungian Depth work, the client and therapist sit facing one another. Face to Face, so to speak.
We wait, allowing a quiet space the patient can use to allow more subtle processing. The therapist stays carefully focused on the patient and might ask questions which supports the therapeutic process into a deeper level.
It is a non-directive therapy, and the patient is helped by the therapist to feel safe with the silence.
As themes begin to emerge, the therapist might incorporate Sand Play or Active Imagination or Dream Work. These creative techniques help support and enhance the more difficult and complex emotional material.
The patient slowly begins to feel themselves in a safe and explorative environment.
The Child is a young human being especially vulnerable between infancy and puberty.
Depending on our experiences through these early formative years, depends on our ability to trust, to relate to others, to form healthy attachments.
Some children get better starts than others, but the spirit and the healing capacity of a child is boundless.
We all have a story, a beginning, and a biography and a biology, influencing our unique development.
Early experiences that either lock and block, or enliven our energies, to make them conscious, is the work of Jungian Therapy. To connect with ourselves in a vital and alive experience.
The "Tabula Rasa" theory, that each child is born a 'blank slate' is untrue, for each child carries their own genetic code, a uniqueness in a fantastic biological and genetic mix of ancestry which informs our very natures.
Just where do we hail from? Who are our people? Our cultures? Our personal and collective stories?
How have the countless lives gone before, informed our very essential being and possibilities?
With these thoughts to ponder, we gently enter into Jung's teaching of the Individual Unconscious.
(More through the gate titled: The Unconscious)
The generations who have come before us, have helped to inform our instinctive natures.
The energy they bring, both primal and authentic, rest not only in our awareness, but largely in our Personal Unconscious.
Depending upon the harmony or dis-harmony of our upbringing, these instincts can be buried so deep in the unconscious, that we begin to exist far away from ourselves. Cut off and alone.
So, like Hansel and Gretel, how do we find our way through the forest and out of the Witch's Lair?
It is the Individual Journey (Individuation) of each soul, (More through the gate: Individuation) which brings cohesion and healing.
We are not aware that these lost feelings and instinctive energies have gone 'underground' yet their influence is great all the more so, because they are unconscious.
Here is Freud's great contribution to our understanding our ourselves and how we operate. It is the unconscious, the feeling and energies we are unaware of, which we are most motivated by.
Our Biographies play just as great a role in informing our values, life choices, decisions and opportunities.
Our personal stories and histories, are the unique building blocks of our individual selves.
We come to therapy to sort this through.
The Self. Just what is The Self? According to Jung, it comprises all of what are conscious of, unconscious of, our spiritual selves and our relationship to the world around us.
Do we have a propensity towards introversion? Extroversion? Some of both perhaps? Are we a "Feeling Type" or a "Thinking Type", or do we move through the world from our own esthetic awareness, through instinct or perhaps through intuition? (More through the Gate on Typology)
Is there a specific talent? Music? Drawing? Visualization? Logos? Rational thought? Body coordination? Do we possess a combination of these abilities? Is there a relationship to the Paranormal? To Nature?
Might it be that if we look into our ancestry, we find another who also carried some of these qualities?
Finally, what are the components of the unique "us-ness" which makes you and me...finally...me and you?
At what age did you have the 'wake-up' that says "I AM." I EXIST. I AM ME?"
Our drives, our interests, what we perceive, how we perceive and make sense of the world, what 'sticks'?
What wakes us up to being uniquely who we are?
What makes us different than others?
How are we all similar?
There are no two fingerprints alike amongst billions of people, not even on identical twins.
You are unique unto yourself, an individual.
THE CHILD WITHIN US HOLDS THE EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL ENERGIES AND WILL CONTINUE TO GROW THROUGHOUT OUR LIFETIMES, INFORMING, INFLUENCING, (FOR BETTER OR WORSE) AND MOTIVATING.
HOW VITAL WE BECOME AT CONNECTING WITH THIS ARCHETYPAL ENERGY, IS THE GOAL OF JUNGIAN THERAPY.