Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Jung: Analytical
Psychology
(^104) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
T
he middle-aged doctor sat at his desk in deep contemplation and concern. A 6-
year relationship with an older friend and mentor had recently ended on bitter
terms, and the doctor felt frustrated and uncertain of his future. He no longer had
confidence in his manner of treating patients and had begun to simply allow them to
talk, not offering any specific advice or treatment.
For some months the doctor had been having bizarre, inexplicable dreams and
seeing strange, mysterious visions. None of this seemed to make sense to him. He
felt lost and disoriented—unsure whether or not the work he had been trained to do
was indeed science.
A moderately gifted artist, he had begun to illustrate his dreams and visions with
little or no comprehension of what the finished product might mean. He had also
been writing down his fantasies without really trying to understand them.
On this particular day, he began to ponder: “What am I really doing?” He
doubted if his work was science but was uncertain about what it was. Suddenly, to
his astonishment, he heard a clear, distinct feminine voice from within him say, “It
is art.” He recognized the voice as that of a gifted female patient who had strong,
positive feelings for him. He protested to the voice that his work was not art, but no
answer was immediately forthcoming. Then, returning to his writing, he again heard
the voice say, “That is art.” When he tried to argue with the voice, no answer came.
He reasoned that the “woman from within” had no speech center so he suggested that
she use his. This she did, and a lengthy conversation followed.
The middle-aged doctor who talked to the “woman from within” was Carl Gus-
tav Jung, and the time was the winter of 1913–1914. Jung had been an early admirer
and friend of Sigmund Freud, but when theoretical differences arose, their personal
relationship broke up, leaving Jung with bitter feelings and a deep sense of loss.
The above story is but one of many strange and bizarre occurrences experienced
by Jung during his midlife “confrontation with the unconscious.” An interesting ac-
count of his unusual journey into the recesses of his psyche is found in Jung’s auto-
biography Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Jung, 1961).
Overview of Analytical Psychology
An early colleague of Freud, Carl Gustav Jung broke from orthodox psychoanalysis
to establish a separate theory of personality called analytical psychology,which
rests on the assumption that occult phenomena can and do influence the lives of
everyone. Jung believed that each of us is motivated not only by repressed experi-
ences but also by certain emotionally toned experiences inherited from our ances-
tors. These inherited images make up what Jung called the collective unconscious.
The collective unconscious includes those elements that we have never experienced
individually but which have come down to us from our ancestors.
Some elements of the collective unconscious become highly developed and are
called archetypes.The most inclusive archetype is the notion of self-realization,
which can be achieved only by attaining a balance between various opposing forces
of personality. Thus, Jung’s theory is a compendium of opposites. People are both in-
troverted and extraverted; rational and irrational; male and female; conscious and
unconscious; and pushed by past events while being pulled by future expectations.
98 Part II Psychodynamic Theories