134 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
(1964), Word and Image (1979), Psychology and Alchemy (1952/1968), and Claire
Dunne’s (2000) illustrated biography, Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul, are
especially prolific sources for these drawings and photographs.
In 1961, Jung wrote about his experiences with active imagination during his
midlife confrontation with the unconscious:When I look back upon it all today and consider what happened to me during
the period of my work on the fantasies, it seems as though a message had come
to me with overwhelming force. There were things in the images which
concerned not only myself but many others also. It was then that I ceased to
belong to myself alone, ceased to have the right to do so. From then on, my life
belonged to the generality.... It was then that I dedicated myself to service of
the psyche: I loved it and hated it, but it was my greatest wealth. My delivering
myself over to it, as it were, was the only way by which I could endure my
existence and live it as fully as possible. (p. 192)Psychotherapy
Jung (1931/1954b) identified four basic approaches to therapy, representing four devel-
opmental stages in the history of psychotherapy. The first is confession of a pathogenic
secret. This is the cathartic method practiced by Josef Breuer and his patient Anna O.
For patients who merely have a need to share their secrets, catharsis is effective. The
second stage involves interpretation, explanation, and elucidation. This approach, used
by Freud, gives the patients insight into the causes of their neuroses, but may still leave
them incapable of solving social problems. The third stage, therefore, is the approach
adopted by Adler and includes the education of patients as social beings. Unfortunately,
says Jung, this approach often leaves patients merely socially well adjusted.
To go beyond these three approaches, Jung suggested a fourth stage, trans-
formation. By transformation, he meant that the therapist must first be transformed
into a healthy human being, preferably by undergoing psychotherapy. Only after
transformation and an established philosophy of life is the therapist able to help
patients move toward individuation, wholeness, or self-realization. This fourth
stage is especially employed with patients who are in the second half of life and
who are concerned with realization of the inner self, with moral and religious
problems, and with finding a unifying philosophy of life (Jung, 1931/1954b).
Jung was quite eclectic in his theory and practice of psychotherapy. His treat-
ment varied according to the age, stage of development, and particular problem of the
patient. About two thirds of Jung’s patients were in the second half of life, and a great
many of them suffered from a loss of meaning, general aimlessness, and a fear of
death. Jung attempted to help these patients find their own philosophical orientation.
The ultimate purpose of Jungian therapy is to help neurotic patients be-
come healthy and to encourage healthy people to work independently toward self-
realization. Jung sought to achieve this purpose by using such techniques as dream
analysis and active imagination to help patients discover personal and collective
unconscious material and to balance these unconscious images with their conscious
attitude (Jung, 1931/1954a).
Although Jung encouraged patients to be independent, he admitted the impor-
tance of transference, particularly during the first three stages of therapy. He