Jungian-Oriented Psychotherapy (JOP)

Tell me if any of this sounds familiar…

You don’t understand how other people can spend so much time socializing.

You can think through complicated problems but have no sense of your own needs (let alone others’ needs).

You feel everything deeply, but your friends complain that you don’t pick up on their cues.

You see the big picture before anyone else, but the little details escape you.

The more you’re around people, the more energy you have.

“Alone time” can be unsettling.

You remember your dreams but fear they mean you are crazy.

You have a longing to know your deepest Self.

If any of these statements resonate with you, Jungian-Oriented Psychotherapy (JOP) is for you!

“Psyche” is the ancient Greek goddess of the soul.

Your soul speaks a symbolic language we will learn together in your therapy.

Psyche has access to our conscious and unconscious material and speaks to us through our dreams (during sleep and daydreaming) and active imagination.

By exploring and amplifying your association with the symbolic material, you’ll develop a deep connection with your highest and best Self.

Through JOP, you’ll experience the deepest aspects of your human soul.

You’re a fraud (not)!

In early JOP, people often think they’ve been “faking it” their whole lives (sometimes, this feeling is what brings them in for therapy).

That’s because they begin to reconnect with or discover the many parts of their Psyche that differ from the one that shows up to work each day, the Persona (that’s what the ancient Greeks called the masks worn in their plays). Carl Jung adopted this term to describe the part of us that formed so that we could function in the world. In other words, it’s your work mask.

We all need a Persona, so having one doesn’t mean you’re an imposter. And the fact that there’s much more to you than just your “work mask” is a good thing.

Through JOP, you’re going to get in touch with all of your parts.

Let your light shine on Shadow!

As we grow, we inevitably incur psychic wounds. Dealing with those wounds is what we call “Shadow work.”

Many of us are afraid of that work because we think the Shadow of our unconscious is where all the “negative aspects” of our personality reside. But our positive attributes can be pushed into the unconscious as well. Sometimes, negative and positive elements form a complex and live together in our Shadow.

As long as Shadow complexes remain hidden, they can take over, resulting in behavior that makes us feel ashamed or guilty. Or we may project our hidden Shadow elements onto others, creating scapegoats and keeping us estranged from our deepest Self AND others around us.

When these elements come forward in therapy, it can be uncomfortable. But that’s what we want!

It’s not just you; it’s the Archetypes.

One of Jung’s greatest contributions was the idea that, along with a personal unconscious, we are influenced by a “Collective Unconscious.” From this Collective Unconscious, we find a treasure trove of Archetypal influences.

In JOP, we may draw on myths, legends, or fairytales to understand and amplify the archetypal influences in our dreams and imagination.

Have you heard of the Hero’s Journey? Yup, the Hero is an archetype.

How about the wise elder in the figure of Yoda? That’s the Wisdom archetype.

Another frequent flyer is the Trickster archetype. This one shows up as the court jester that breaks the tension with absurd behavior… or tells a poem that turns a situation on its head.

Archetypes come in as many forms as there are human personalities. But they transcend any individual human. We all have access to and can learn to harness archetypal energy.

If we don’t harness it, it may harness US through those shadow complexes I discussed above.

The universe is conspiring to support you.

“Synchronicity” is the alignment of what we see in the outer world with what we understand of our inner world.

One of the cool aspects of JOP is when people start to experience Synchronicity.

It feels good when what we need to face our many battles in life is being met in a way that leads us to a deep connection with our Self.

Is the dress black and blue or white and gold??

In our crazy, meme-driven life, we are often presented with binary choices. Worse yet, what binary choice we make is supposed to mean something about us.

When Jung discovered the psychological information embedded in ancient alchemical texts, he had the profound insight that only by holding the tension of opposites could we allow a third new thing to emerge. This is “the transcendent function.”

This can be another challenging part of JOP. It is hard for most of us to let go of our viewpoint – let alone hold onto it while giving equal weight to a seemingly opposing perspective.

But that’s what we’ll practice in JOP so that you can benefit from new perspectives and achieve wholeness.

Really, wholeness is the point of everything!

As we work together, you will experience and come into a deep connection with your whole Self. (I’m sure you’ve noticed that I sometimes capitalize “Self.”)

JOP aims for each of us to achieve “individuation” (wholeness). This is not to be confused with “individualism,” which is expressed by many social influencers who may or may not be acting consciously. Often, I see these influencers working from deep in Shadow (but that’s speculation on my part).

Individuation means you have come into such a deep relationship with your Self that you are continually and consciously exploring and experiencing the many parts of your Psyche. It is a powerful, lifelong relationship – one that never ends – one you can always count on.

It can take years to get to this point, but I’m here for that.

That is my deepest calling.

This page is just an introduction to Jungian psychology, which is very complex and comprises countless texts.

But don’t worry: You don’t have to be an expert to benefit from JOP. I’m here to guide you.

You’re longing for a deep connection with your Self…

So, let’s not waste another minute! Call me today for a free 15-minute consultation: (315) 876-4419.