An analysis of the use of the therapist's ‘vulnerable self’ and the significance of the cross-fertilization of humanistic and Jungian theory in the development of the relational approach

Abstract

In this article the author examines some of the similarities and differences between Martin Buber and Carl Jung. Both men suffered abandonment by their mothers at an early age. Buber's mother left the family home; Jung's mother became mentally unstable. The author suggests that these early developmental experiences in both of the analysts’ lives influenced their theoretical and philosophical development. She introduces a case study as a method to examine both similarities and differences between Buber and Jung's approaches. The major distinction between the humanistic and Jungian approaches to therapy, she argues, is an understanding and use of the unconscious in the therapy relationship. She suggests that the relational approach in psychotherapy has benefited from a cross-fertilization of theoretical approaches, and in particular sees a fusion of Buber and Jung as offering the therapist ways of reflecting that increase the capacity for effective therapy.