Jungian analysis is a form of psychotherapy that aims to assist us in becoming more fully who we have the capacity to be. This allows us to bring more to the world and lives of those around us as well as to experience greater personal fulfillment. In Jungian analysis we pay careful attention to our physical and emotional reactions to experiences with others, as well as to responses to images in our dreams and waking lives. This process provides an opportunity to discover the fundamental, organizing forces and structures that are at work deep within us and that influence our feelings and behavior. Analysis also gives us the opportunity to recognize these elements and to experiment with new ways of engaging them in order to create healthier relationships and to experience more satisfaction and meaning in work and in other creative aspects of our lives.

The relationship with the analyst is central to the experience and potential value of analysis. The purpose of an initial consultation is to begin to get a sense of whether the relationship is a good fit for both people involved. Another fundamental ingredient in Jungian analysis is developing a more conscious relationship with parts of ourselves that have different perspectives from the ones by which we usually operate. In doing so, we become more able to recognize obstacles that our customary attitude to our lives does not.

Dreams often present us with these kinds of alternative perspectives and reveal the impasse that we are faced with in our own development. During the course of therapy dreams may come into the foreground, even for people who previously have not remembered them, and they are welcome to be included as part of the analytic work.

Attending to and reflecting on our early lives, as well the events and crises of our current daily life, are processes that are indispensable to the analytic endeavor. Creating a trustworthy and predictable setting in which to do this helps us recognize signs of what has served us well and what has outlived its usefulness. Feelings about the analyst and the experience of working together—the frustrations and the rewards—can also illuminate and guide the analytic process.

The frequency of sessions and the duration of analysis are particular to the nature and circumstances of each person. The goal is to meet in a way that provides enough intensity and momentum to support and sustain the forces of growth and development, as well as time and space for reflection and integration of what analysis uncovers.