C.G. Jung on Individuation

In the passage below, Jung discusses his concept of individuation - a term he uses to describe the process of psychological differentiation having for its goal the development of the individual personality.

"Individuation has two principal aspects: in the first place it is an internal and subjective process of integration, and in the second it is an equally indispensable process of objective relationship. Neither can exist without the other, although sometimes the one and sometimes the other predominates. This double aspect has two corresponding dangers. The first is the danger of the patient's using the opportunities for spiritual development arising out of the analysis of the unconscious as a pretext for evading the deeper human responsibilities, and for affecting a certain "spirituality" which cannot stand up to moral criticism; the second is the danger that atavistic tendencies may gain the ascendancy and drag the relationship down to a primitive level. Between this Scylla and that Charybdis there is a narrow passage..." (p. 234, para 448)

Jung, C. G. (1966). The Psychology of the Transference. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Vol. 16, 2nd ed., pp. 163-323). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Christopher Bollas on the Past, History and Myth

"Past and history are not the same thing. The past happened. It is composed of events that affected the self, some of which can be remembered, but most of which are outside memory altogether. History is a person's transformation of the past into a story which that person can tell himself or herself. Sometimes the story does indeed derive from the past, but even for the most sincere of analysands, his or her history will be more like a myth.

Christopher Bollas (2009). The Infinite Question. London: Routledge." (pp. 30-31).

Don Kalsched on the Defenses of Trauma

"In healthy psychological development, everything depends on a gradual humanization and integration of the archetypal opposites inherent in the Self as the infant and young child wrestles with tolerable experiences of frustration (hate) in the context of a good-enough (not perfect) primary relationship. The child's ruthless aggression does not destroy his object and he can work through to guilt, reparation, and what Klein called the 'depressive position.' However, inasmuch as the traumatized child has intolerable experiences in the object world, the negative side of the Self does not personalize, remaining archaic. The internal world continues to be menaced by a diabolical, inhuman figure. Aggressive, destructive energies - ordinarily available for reality-adaptation and for healthy defense against toxic not-self objects - are directed back into the inner world. This leads to a continuation of trauma and abuse by inner objects long after the outer persecutory activity has stopped." (p. 19)

Donald Kalsched (1996). The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defenses of the Personal Spirit. London: Routledge.

Heinz Kohut on the Function of Defenses and Resistance

"The so-called defense-resistances are neither defenses nor resistances. Rather, they constitute valuable moves to safeguard the self, however weak and defensive it may be, against destruction and invasion. It is only when we recognize that the patient has no healthier attitude at his disposal than the one he is in fact taking that we evaluate the significance of 'defenses' and 'resistances' appropriately. The patient protects the defective self so that it will be ready to grow again in the future, to continue to develop from the point in time at which its development had been interrupted. And it is this recognition, deeply understood by the analyst who essentially sees the world through his patient's eyes while he analyzes him, that best prepares the soil for the developmental move forward that the stunted self of the analysand actively craves. Such recognition serves the patient better than anything else the analyst can offer." (p. 141)

Heinz Kohut (1984). How Does Analysis Cure? Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Another Milestone for The Psychoanalytic Muse

After just seven weeks of existence The Psychoanalytic Muse has reached 1000 viewings from 21 countries around the world.  Thank you for your interest in the ideas being presented here.