A preliminary sketch of a Jungian socioanalysis – an emerging theory combining analytical psychology,complexity theories,sociological theories,socio- and psycho-analysis,group analysis and affect theories1

This paper presents a preliminary sketch of what we have termed a Jungian socioanalysis – an emerging theory combining analytical psychology, complexity theories, sociological theories, socio- and psycho-analysis, group analysis and affect theories. Our assumption is that Jungian theory and practice need to attend to and focus more on social contexts, sociality and the influence of societal developments. But also, on the other hand, that analytical psychology, primarily Jung’s theory of individuation and the transcendent function as well as the broad complexity perspective of his theory of psyche, can be extended to a ‘socio’ and not just a ‘psycho’ perspective. The paper presents five foundational assumptions for a Jungian socioanalysis, with the following headings: 1) A Jungian socioanalysis calls for a complex psychology; 2) (Un)consciousness is social and sociality has a dimension of (un)consciousness; 3) A Jungian socioanalysis explores social fields ‘from within’ by smaller groups; 4) A Jungian socioanalysis enables and is enabled by emerging metaphors and affect-imagery; 5) Socio-cultural fields have an impulse toward individuation. This is the first of two papers in the present edition of the journal – the second paper gives socio-clinical illustrations of our thesis in this paper.     

Freud,Jung and The Great Chain of Being

For some time, it has been clear that psychoanalytic theories are built upon the kind of master narratives Roy Schafer, a New York psychoanalyst, described in 1980. As such, psychoanalytic theories may today have lost some of their initial scientific credibility in that they can no longer be seen as summarizing findings from data collected in a research environment. As aids in participating in their patients’ process of healing, however, narratives continue to be used by practitioners and reflect allegiance to core beliefs and propositions with roots in long‐standing Western thought. In this article, the metaphors in master narratives of Freud and Jung are compared with a conceptual system identified by cognitive linguists as ‘The Great Chain of Being’. Based on this analysis, the article proposes that theoretical formulations have mainly a secondary role to play in achieving good outcomes. The most critical element is the therapist's capacity to access a specific narrative for what transpires throughout each treatment.     

Jungian socioanalysis,social dreaming and the emerging complexity of Europe1

This paper presents central elements of what we have termed Jungian socioanalysis – an emerging theory combining analytical psychology, complexity theories, sociological theories, socio- and psychoanalysis, social dreaming, group analysis and affect theories consisting of five assumptions (see also Odde & Vestergaard 2021). Jungian socioanalysis develops a process approach, as opposed to a systems approach, to sociality. In this paper we focus mostly on one of the five assumptions, namely that Jungian socioanalysis explores social fields ‘from within’ through smaller groups, treating group processes as a vehicle to gain a psychosocial and cultural understanding of larger social entities. We give an example of this approach with a presentation of two local social dreaming experiences in Denmark, focusing on Europe in transition. We show that the most significant outcome doesn't rely on the specific content of the dreams, but rather on the engagement in the social dreaming process itself, resulting in transformative image-affects. The paper ends with reflections on how these social dreaming experiences inform a Jungian socioanalysis, pointing to enabling intersubjective meetings, or present moments, opening for a deeper understanding from within the group as opposed to a systems approach. The paper is a revised version of a presentation at the 2018 European Congress in Avignon.     

The words we work with that work on us: clinical paradigm and cumulative relational trauma

This paper addresses a gap between analytic clinical theory and practice which emerges when examining the words we work with via textual and narrative research of case histories. Both subject matter and methodology fit with the remit of conceptual research in psychoanalysis, currently ranging from inductive to nomothetical approaches. Research of clinical language reveals an implicit account of human nature and the world which undergirds clinical practice. Based in the critical philosophy of the previous century, this is termed clinical paradigm. Such implicit views are induced rather than explicitly taught during analytic training, and need to be spelled out in order to become available to discourse and difference of opinion. Textual research shows these implicit pre‐clinical attitudes to be inherently pessimistic and thus too similar to the views of self and others found in cumulative relational trauma. Moreover, clinical accounts tend to normalize subtly antagonistic forms of relating, recently recognised as micro‐trauma. Importantly, this contravenes the agapic orientation of our theories and ethics. Paradigmatic reflection as a form of professional individuation addresses this gap. This includes a more optimistic outlook which can be traced through the philosophical implications of quantum theory.