ABSTRACT
The term archetype, in combination with the term ‘collective unconscious’ and the individuation process, is surely the central concept of Carl Gustav Jung’s analytical psychology. The archetypes form the theoretical foundations of Jungian psychology. They distinguish it from other schools of psychotherapy and essentially define the specific approach in psychotherapy with its various methods of dream interpretation, working with images and other symbolic material, active imagination, and so on. The concept of archetypes was – alongside personal conflicts – a main reason for the theoretical differences and the resulting separation of Sigmund Freud and Jung, and marks the beginning of the formation of Jung’s own psychological theory. This chapter describes the archetypal stages of the individuation process in their typical sequence. The conception of the individuation process and the midlife crisis was so essential for Jung’s psychology that in principle it is possible to formulate a theory of psychopathology based on the individuation process and a stagnation of its development.
