Lionel Corbett

The Soul in Anguish: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Suffering presents a variety of approaches to psychotherapeutic work with suffering people, from the perspectives of both Jungian and psychoanalytic psychology. An important theme of the book is that suffering may be harmful or helpful to the development of the personality. Our culture tends to assume that suffering is invariably negative or pointless, but this is not necessarily so; suffering may be destructive, but it may lead to positive developments such as enhanced empathy for others, wisdom, or spiritual development. The book offers professionals in any helping profession various frameworks within which to view suffering, so that the individual's suffering does not seem to be random or meaningless. Cognitive-behavioral approaches, the approach of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric association, and the promise of evidence-based strategies may or may not be applicable to the unique circumstances of the suffering individual. These approaches also ignore the unconscious sources of much suffering, its implications for the ongoing development of the personality, and the nuances of the therapeutic relationship. We cannot objectify or measure suffering; suffering is best viewed from within the individual's perspective, because people with the same diagnosis suffer in unique ways. The Soul in Anguish is a groundbreaking, meticulously researched study from an outstanding Jungian analyst and scholar. It provides illuminating ways into the transformative potential of suffering and how it can be dealt with in the consulting room. Charting the soul's agonies with great compassion and profound sensitivity, Dr. Corbett skillfully delineates clinical, philosophical and spiritual concepts of suffering that testify to the endurance of the human spirit. This book is an enlightening read for anybody with a passionate concern for the human soul. - Ursula Wirtz, PhD, Jungian Analyst, Author of Trauma and Beyond: The Mystery of Transformation With extraordinary candor The Soul in Anguish brings its readers face to face with one of the most difficult topics in life, suffering. This remarkable exploration of the range of suffering, especially as encountered in psychotherapy, mines for meaning and finds both its positive and negative expressions. Transcending the categorical, pathological descriptions of the DSM, The Soul in Anguish reveals the archetypal nature of the experience of suffering. Dr. Lionel Corbett offers healing to mind, soul and body, in this uplifting engagement with what is usually either avoided in most treatments or only touched upon, i.e., anguish. This book reimagines our pain and anguish to bring about the possibility of a true psychological and soulful grasp of suffering. No therapist should miss the opportunities of Dr. Corbett's rich study. - Joe Cambray, Ph.D.,Past-President IAAP,Author DR. LIONEL CORBETT trained in medicine and psychiatry in England and as a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. His primary interests are: the religious function of the psyche, the development of psychotherapy as a spiritual practice, and the interface of Jungian psychology and contemporary psychoanalytic thought. Dr. Corbett is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. He is the author of numerous papers and three books: The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a Spiritual Practice, Psyche and the Sacred, and The Religious Function of the Psyche. He is the co-editor of: Jung and Aging, Depth Psychology, Meditations in the Field, and Psychology at the Threshold.

Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Suffering

The Soul in Anguish

Laura Mei

Human suffering is of major importance to medicine, philosophy, religion, and society as a whole, not least because suffering calls into question our sense that life is meaningful. Many of us suffer because we feel trapped in a social system that puts too much stress on power, vested interest, economic competition, and self- interest, which sometimes combine to violate people. We sense that there is something deeply wrong with this system but we are resigned to living in it, following its rules, with no idea what to do to change it. Suffering can rupture meaning and destroy our capacity for dealing with the world and making our life our own.

Envy is one of the most malignant and destructive states of mind. The word “envy” is derived from the Latin 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦, meaning to look into, with the connotation of doing so with hostility and hatred. We are embarrassed by envy, both individually and culturally, so that envy may be repressed, and even if conscious, we may be reluctant to admit it. Envy believes there is not enough goodness for everyone, so if one of us has it, the other cannot. Envy typically arises when one realizes that someone has something good that one wants, but one feels that one can never have it; the gap between oneself and the envied person seems to be too great ever to be bridged. Then, the problem is the disparity between oneself and the envied person; we see the one we envy as impossibly greater than oneself. Compensatory feelings of personal pride or contempt for the other are other defensive outcomes of such comparison. Envy reminds us of what is undeveloped in us, so that if we can become conscious enough, envy has the potential to stimulate us to develop new skills and capacities instead of separating us from others.

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