What is Jungian Psychotherapy?

Jungian Psychotherapy, founded by Carl Jung in the early 1900s, includes themes of unconscious memories or experiences as the sources of distress. It supports the idea of the “collective unconscious,” or shared experiences and human traits that all people encounter in their life. When people have too many repressed memories or experiences, they struggle to achieve “individuation,” or a sense of wholeness. Jung believed it was not sufficient to address the symptoms of emotional distress. Instead, people had to engage in intensive counseling sessions to alleviate emotional distress.

Jungian therapists may utilize techniques such as dreamwork, which combines writing about your dreams and then exploring potential themes. This approach could also include word association, a method where your counselor says a word, and you say the word that comes to your mind. Your therapist would measure how long it took you to respond to terms. From there, they interpret how you connect emotionally to the various word stimuli.

Jungian Psychotherapy’s goal is to help you feel more integrated and whole. This type of therapy can be helpful for various mental health concerns, such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, emotional problems, or problems with self-esteem and self-image.