A Complete introduction

Carl Gustav Jung

Making space for psyche, page 156

“My aim is to bring about a psychic state in which my patient begins to experiment with his own nature – a state of fluidity, change and growth where nothing is eternally fixed and hopelessly petrified.” 

“The principles and practice of Jungian analysis rest on tje premise that psyche is a living, evolving presence in the consulting room. What this means is the work of a Jungian analyst is not principally about having the right tools to “fix” what is out of kilter in the life of the analysand (although there are some key elements to analytic practice which provide the framework for analysis). Nor is it to define, in a precise way, what is happening in the analysis. Rather, it is about following the direction of psyche. In other words, it is about staying alert, and paying heed, to the workings of the unconscious and trying to detect, and work with, what emerges in the organic life of the therapy. Being open to what the analysand brings, as well as who they are, is a core principle of the work. This means, as the quote above highlights, helping them to “experiment” with themselves and challenge their own preconceptions about who they are – a prerequisite for self-knowledge and the loosening of the influence of complexes (as discussed in chapter 8).”

“The work of analysis will therefore include descriptions of, and reflections on, current life experience, and the feelings and thoughts these evoke. It will also include work with dreams and imagination, as well as with what the transference and countertransference between the analysand and the analyst bring to light. Terminology, such as that concerned with the transference (which originates in Freuds’s thinking and practice will be explained in more detail as the discussion unfolds.)”