ABSTRACT
Jungian psychotherapy has long been blamed for not giving any empirical proof of its effectiveness. Since the 1990s, several research projects and empirical studies on Jungian psychotherapy, its outcome, and process have been conducted, mainly in Germany and Switzerland. The studies are diligently designed and the results are well applicable to the conditions of outpatient practice. This chapter will give a critical overview of the studies and results. All the studies show significant improvements not only on the level of symptoms and interpersonal problems, but also on the level of personality structure and in everyday life conduct. These improvements remain stable also after completion of therapy over a period of up to six years. Several studies show further improvements after the end of therapy. Health insurance data show that after Jungian therapy, patients reduce visits to doctors and hospitals to a level even below the average of the total population. Results over several studies show that Jungian treatment moves patients from a level of severe symptoms to a level even below the cutoff where one can speak of psychological health. These significant changes are reached by Jungian therapy with an average of 90 sessions, which makes Jungian psychotherapy an effective and cost-effective method. Process studies support Jungian theories on psychodynamics and elements of change in the therapeutic process. Nevertheless, there are serious problems with the participation of Jungian analysts in empirical studies, and to date no randomized controlled trial of Jungian psychotherapy has been conducted.
