Stages of Analytic Psychotherapy

The second stage of psychotherapy is called elucidation, and it involves

becoming aware of one’s unconscious transferences. Transference is a process

in which a patient transfers emotions about someone else in his or her

life onto the therapist; the patient will behave toward the therapist as he or

she would toward that other person. It is similar to meeting someone who

reminds one of a past relationship; for no apparent reason, one might begin

to act toward the new person the same way one did to the previous person.

Jung believed that these transferences to the analyst give a clue about unconscious

material. A gentle, passive patient might evidence hostile transferences

to the therapist, thus giving evidence of considerable rage that is

being contained in the unconscious.

The third stage of analytic psychotherapy consists of education. The patient

is instructed about the dangers of unequal personality development

and is supported in his or her attempts to change. The overly logical business

executive may be encouraged to go on a spontaneous vacation with his

family with few plans and no fixed destinations. The shy student may be cajoled

into joining a debate on emotional campus issues. Jung believed in the

value of experiencing the messages of one’s unconscious.

The final stage of psychotherapy, and one that is not always necessary, is

that of transformation. This goes beyond the superficial encouragements of

the previous stages and attempts to get the patient to delve deeply into the

unconscious and thereby understand who he or she is. This process of understanding

and reconciling one’s opposites takes considerable courage

and exploration into one’s personal and cultural past. It is a quest for one’s

identity and purpose in life that requires diligent work between the analyst

and patient; the result is superior wisdom and a transcendent calm when

coping with life’s struggles.