Description
Topics: Active Imagination, CG Jung, Society and Culture, Transference and Countertransference.
The Wounded Healer: A Transformational Dynamic
Jung learned through his own suffering how emotional vulnerability and acceptance of personal inadequacies, not studies or intellect, could open a portal to deep emotional engagement with patients. He saw the therapeutic process as mutual and dialectic with both participants equally involved and affected, both “in treatment.” Recognizing the archetypal core of the healing profession as “the wounded healer,” Jung insisted “You (the therapist/caregiver) can exert no influence if you are not susceptible to influence” (CW16). From a Jungian perspective, ‘wounded healer’ means not once wounded now ‘recovered’ but currently, acutely, vulnerable in the therapeutic encounter. Awareness of our personal susceptibility (countertransference) as well as resilience can activate “inner healer” energy in the relationship. Examples from myth, TV and film will illustrate and amplify this transformative dynamic.
It was recorded on January 28, 2013.
Suggested Reading
• Guggenbuhl-Craig, A. (1971). Power in the Helping Professions. Dallas, Texas: Spring Publications.
Learning Objectives
After viewing this seminar, you will be able to:
• Describe and explain the archetypal dynamic of the wounded healer in the therapeutic encounter.
• Identify when wounded healer archetypal energies are polarized through mutual projections in clinical work.
• Recognize Jung’s view that both helper and client change, through mutual influence, if the healing process succeeds.
© 2013 Judith Cooper and Suzanne Rosenthal
℗ 2013 CG Jung Institute of Chicago