Jungian Psychology 101

Carl Jung, famous Swiss psychologist, created a specific system of understanding the dynamics of the human psyche known as Jungian psychology. Jungian psychology maintains a strong focus on individuation, whereby an individual comes to terms with his or her sense of self.

Here not only do the ego and personal unconscious come into play but also a hallmark of this theory of psychology, the collective unconscious. Another well-known focus of Jungian psychology is symbolism, such as in the discussion of archetypal figures and the employment of dream interpretation.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Jung did not consider neuroses (psychic blocks that impact an individual's life) as inherently negative, but rather things upon which special focus must be placed, because understanding them would lead to a deeper understanding of the individual.

Jungian Archetypes

The "anima" and "animus" (male and female, respectively) represent the soul. The "self" is seen to be not only one's own sense of self, but the self with God or divinity included as a cohesive whole. This self is created through individuation. The "shadow" represents one's dark, unknown nature.

Dream Interpretations

In Jungian dream interpretation, anything remembered from one's dream must be put into terms that someone completely unfamiliar with the objects or dynamics of the dreamer's life may clearly understand. Sometimes, according to Jung, inexplicable dreams or dream images are not results of one's personal dream, but rather a collective dream spawned from the collective unconscious.

Collective Unconscious

One of the most notable deviations from his colleagues was Jung's idea of the collective unconscious. Seen in Jungian psychology as the third part of the psyche (the other two parts being the ego and the personal unconscious), this collective unconscious is common to all of humanity and has nothing to do with individual, personal experience; it is impersonal, identical and instinctive to all people.

Much of Jungian psychology builds from this key concept; the collective unconscious, among other things, serves as a repository for symbols known to humans around the world. This is easily seen with the concept of Jungian archetypes.

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