ABSTRACT
Analytical psychology is properly ‘Jungian’, deriving from the work of Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), and is a distinctive departure from the Freudian school of thought which coined the word psychoanalysis. Jung’s break with Freud took place in 1913, by which time Jung had developed his distinctive style. This chapter will explore the theory and development of this approach and in particular how it was developed by Dr Irene Champernowne (1901–76), a Jungian analyst who developed an arts-based approach. Differences between Freud’s psychoanalysis and Jung’s analytic psychology are clearly seen with respect to their respective attitudes towards images, which are distinctive in the two approaches (Hogan 2001). In a nutshell, Jung’s idea of libido was different from that of Freud and, as a consequence, there are important implications for how symbolism is perceived. Furth, attempting to elucidate Jung’s ‘libido’, provided this useful analogy:
By libido Jung meant psychic energy, ‘the intensity of a psychic process, its psychological value’ (Jung 1976, pp. 455–6) . . . Jung compares the progressive nature of psychic energy to a flow of water. Essentially, water that is flowing cannot be stopped. Water flows from a higher level to a lower level. In theory if sufficient water is collected and the water backed up, we would have regression. The water could be channelled elsewhere, or the water could be stored, eventually reaching a maximum level of its own accord flowing off into a new direction. This is seen psychologically as a progressive movement. There must be both a progression and a regression of libido. Opposites exist, producing a balancing effect. Without one the other does not exist . . . A therapist needs to be alert to the flow of energy from a patient’s unconscious. This can be ascertained through pictures from the unconscious.
(Furth 2002, p. 4)