To be or not to be: divergence and communality in Jungian analytic and humanistic approaches

Abstract

This presentation explores instances of divergence and communality in Jungian analytic and humanistic therapies in two distinct areas, namely their approaches to the body and relationality. Informed by body psychotherapy, the experience of embodied being is discussed. Conversely, it is argued that analysis tends to apprehend the body in terms of meanings. While this can be insightful and emancipatory, it fails to encompass the dimension of being. The talk's second part discusses communalities in tacit pre-clinical views, which impact on another experience-near concern: the subtle relational ‘feel’, or relational sensibilities, in the consulting room. According to the author's textual research of clinical writing, such sensibilities are implicitly communicated, yet not usually reflected upon. Here, the author's research into implicit pre-clinical bias is touched upon, and alternatives, such as a sanatological bias of deep positivity, are briefly discussed.