Active Imagination

A final application of analytical psychotherapy stems from Jung’s method of

active imagination. Jung believed that unconscious messages could come

not only from dreams but also from one’s artistic productions. He encouraged

his patients to produce spontaneous, artistic material. Some patients

sketched, while others painted, wrote poetry, or sang songs. He was interested

in the symbols that were given during these periods, and he asked his

clients to comment on them. Jung believed that considerable material in the

unconscious could be discovered during these encounters. He also talked

with his patients about the universal meanings of these symbols (as in his

idea of the collective unconscious), and they would attempt to relate this

idea of the collective unconscious), and they would attempt to relate this

material to the their own cultural pasts.

Many modern therapies, such as art, music, and dance therapy, draw

heavily from this idea that one can become aware of unconscious and emotional

material through association involving one’s artistic productions.

These therapists believe, as did Jung, that patients are less defensive during

these times of spontaneous work and, therefore, are more likely to discover

unconscious material.