Jungian Analysis: a form of psychotherapy that honours the soul
Do you ever feel like your life lacks direction? Do you yearn for something within yourself but can’t put a name on it? Perhaps you experience great success in one aspect of your life and feel a fraud in other aspects of your life. All of these “starting” points, potentially for a new life, are experienced as disconcerting and disrupting.
Based on the work of Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist, Dr. C.G. Jung, Jungian psychology focuses on the sources of a problem to help alleviate pain. In analysis it is important to go to a greater depth than simply trying to modify or correct the manifestations or symptoms of the problem. Jungian psychology is, in short, a psychology of the soul. The soul is a place of source and of mystery within ourselves and life. It can be experienced as a place of darkness as well as source of great potential and creativity. The soul has its own ways – ways that need to be both appreciated and integrated to have a more complete life.
Jane Smith-Eivemark RP, is a practicing psychotherapist and Jungian analyst. She is a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), the Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts (OAJA) and the International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP). As a Jungian analyst, Jane looks with her clients at betrayal, loss, doubt, despair, addictions, anxiety, guilt and grief to assist the process of coming to better know oneself through seeing more of what has been unconscious. Through this process, an opportunity to confront patterns of thinking that are no longer warranted can help her clients see what might be causing these sources of discomfort and thereby offer opportunities for change.
“We each have what we need within ourselves to move toward more wholeness,” says Jane. “Each of us has an inner compass and when we experience discontent, it’s a signal to look at one’s own life in a different way.” In her practice, Jane offers a compassionate set of eyes and ears to help her clients to better know themselves. Knowing oneself is the first step toward being a more whole person. This benefits not just the person but all those in relationship with the person, including one’s community.
Canadian Jungian analyst Marion Woodman describes the process of analysis as soul-making. “Soulmaking is constantly confronting the paradox that an eternal being is dwelling in a temporal body. That’s why it suffers, and learns by heart.”
“There is no greater privilege and responsibility in life than embarking upon a journey of self-awakening,” explains Jane. “Jungian analysis is a way to work with our suffering to discover more of our capacity to live a life that is more holistic.”