Murray Stein

Jungian Psychoanalysis or Analytical Psychology has evolved in unexpected and exciting ways, exploring new paths in the spirit of Jung. The openness and diversity of the Jungian approach are captured in this collection of bold new essays by some of today's most outstanding Jungian analysts. Jungian Psychoanalysis explains what Jungian Psychoanalysis is all about, how it relates to other types of contemporary therapy, and what it can contribute to the debates now taking place among psychotherapists all over the world, as dissatisfaction grows with the limitations of both drug treatments and cognitive-behavioral therapies. This book vividly depicts where Jungian Psychoanalysis has been, where it stands today in relation to a wide array of clinical issues, and where it is headed as it moves into its second century. "In the thirty-six chapters of Jungian Psychoanalysis we meet some of the leading thinkers and therapists who embody the living spirit of Jung's work in action. This is a fascinating and indispensable book, not only for anyone who practices within the spirit of Jung's thought but also for anyone who takes up that spirit as a way of conducting their own life."-Robert D. Romanyshyn, author of The Wounded Researcher: Doing Research with Soul in Mind "Jungian Psychoanalysis is an indispensable resource. Each chapter brings together Jung's ideas, multidisciplinary sources, other psychologies, case illustrations, and the author's own reflections. This combination results in exciting new directions for clinical practice. The book skillfully balances erudition with respect for the mysterious workings of the psyche."-Lawrence R. Alschuler, author of The Psychopolitics of Liberation: Political Consciousness from a Jungian Perspective "Jung urged his students to work in the spirit rather than the letter of his depth-psychological theories. In Jungian Psychoanalysis, Jungian analysts from six continents present a contemporary review of post-Jungian goals, methods, analytic process, and training. Their essays provide compelling accounts of the revelations and insights encountered by those who experience what it means to be human through a twenty-first-century Jungian lens."-Beverley Zabriskie, President, Jungian Psychoanalytic Association, New York "The analytic tradition initiated by C.G. Jung continues to evolve and develop new insights. Jungian Psychoanalysis is essential reading for therapists, analysts, and scholars who want to understand the most contemporary thinking in this dynamic field"-George B. Hogenson, author of Jung's Struggle with Freud Murray Stein is the author of The Principle of Individuation (2006), Jung's Map of the Soul (1998), and Transformation: Emergence of the Self (1998). Dr. Stein is President of the International School of Analytical Psychology, in Zurich.

Working in the Spirit of C.G. Jung

Jungian Psychoanalysis

Laura Mei

Facing the shadow is one of the more important goals of Jungian psychoanalysis. In earlier editions of his book, Jungian analyst Murray Stein described the aims and goals of Jungian analysis as coming to terms with the unconscious. Facing the shadow is a key aspect of this overall work. Stein notes that coming to terms with the shadow means calling into question the illusions one clings to most dearly about oneself, which have been used to shore up self-esteem and to maintain a sense of personal identity. Facing the shadow and confronting one’s illusions are understandably painful moments in analysis. In the most general sense, one might define the shadow as referring to the darkness of the unconscious; to what has been rejected by consciousness — both positive and negative contents — as well as to that which has not yet, or perhaps will never, become conscious. Turning towards this darkness means facing the unacceptable, undesirable, and underdeveloped parts of ourselves: the cruel, ugly, inferior, inflated, and sometimes vile, as well as discovering the potential for further development of which we are unaware. For Jung, our attempt to fit in with our families and with historical and cultural values result in the personality developing what he called a persona — a mask through which adaptation is facilitated, but a nevertheless necessary structure of relationship. In order to adapt, those aspects of the larger personality deemed unacceptable are often denied, repressed, and split off from the developing personality. As a result, they can become tortured, wounded, maimed, and can recede into the dark where ultimately, they may be killed and buried. Other potentials of the Self that have never been conscious may likewise be resisted and never come into conscious relationship with the personality. This dynamic process helps to form that part of the psyche Jung called the shadow.

While feeling judgements are essential to ethical life, moral outrage can also be inflated — too rational and one sided that one can miss seeing into the paradoxical and transformational aspects. Therefore, we are left with only black or white possibilities.

Jungian Psychoanalysis quotes

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