As a counsellor operating from a Jungian perspective, how would you practically work with the client towards that goal?
1.1. The Use of the Couch in Psychoanalysis
As you may have learned by now, in classical or “orthodox” psychoanalysis, Freud would invite his clients (called “analysands”) to lie down on a couch while they were talking freely about anything that came to mind, as they self-reflected (the process of free association). All along, Freud would be seated on a chair behind the client, out of the client’s sight, and only interject verbally from time to time, in order to encourage further client self-exploration. Nowadays, many psychoanalytically oriented counsellors prefer to dialogue with their clients face-to-face. What do you think is gained and what is lost in the face-to-face format? Do you think that the 3 basic tools of psychoanalysis (i.e., analysand’s self-reflection and insight, analysand’s transference, and therapist’s countertransference) can be used more or less effectively in the couch format compared to the face-to-face setting?
1.2. Jung’s Concept of Individuation
Jung believed that one of the main purposes of analysis was to assist clients in their process of individuation. As a counsellor operating from a Jungian perspective, how would you practically work with the client towards that goal?
