ABSTRACT
C. G. Jung has spoken of the Transference as one of the most significant aspects of Jungian psychology. The “river cults,” as they were identified by non-Africanists, participated in sacred water rituals in order to obtain the healing and psychic energy of a named or followed god or ancestor. In The Psychology of the Transference, Jung discusses the Transference in relationship to alchemy. The individuals responsible for healing in Egypt were trained priests who developed their healing art on the African continent. In the early days of slavery, African Americans were treated by medicine-men and women healers from African villages. African American religious practice is noted for its expectation of a baptism, oftentimes full-body, which mimics the collective spiritual practices of Africanist groups. The African American collective experience of slavery has created a psychic bond present in the clinical work because it can be like an archetypal possession.
