Carl Jung theory - Assignment Example

Carl Jung Theory Carl Gustav Jung was born in Kesswil, Switzerland on July 26, 1875 (Cherry, . His father, Paul Achilles, was a pastor; and hismother’s name was Emilie Preiswerk. The couple had four children in all, but only the fourth one, Jung, survived. Since early childhood, Carl is reported to be a lonely and solitary child, as he was a bit introverted. He kept himself socially excluded. He was injured by a classmate in childhood at school, and had epileptic symptoms since then. However, his fascination with spirituality and medicine made him a psychiatrist.

He presented his doctoral thesis titled "On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena" in 1902, and got his medical degree from University of Basel. He worked at the University of Zürich asylum. He wrote “Studies in Word Association” in 1906. After giving many significant contributions to the field of psychiatry, he died on June 6, 1961 in Zurich. Carl Jung’s analytical theory proposes that human psyche is divided into three categories or layers: conscious mind, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious.

According to him, it is the combination of conscious and unconscious mind that creates the identity of a person and makes him different from other human beings. This is called the process of individuation. Thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting are four main functions of Jung’s theory. Important terms associated with the theory are: conscious, personal unconscious, collective unconscious, introversion, extraversion, libido, thinking, feeling, sensing, intuiting, and individuation. In his theory, Jung divided the human development into four main stages: (1) Childhood (birth until adolescence), (2) youth (puberty until middle age), (3) middle age (age around 35 and 40), and (4) old age (time when psychological rebirth and self-realization occurs, and preparation of death begins).

According to Jung, self-realization occurs at old age when the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche integrate into the identity of an individual. Carl Jung’s theory clearly describes the development of pathological behavior like schizophrenia. The concepts of conscious mind and unconscious mind tell a lot about pathological states, and thus, this theory helps us understand human behavior which may be both normal and pathological. Carl Jung has mentioned the usage of psycho-galvanometer as an important assessment tool.

This tool measured the patients’ responses and evaluated his pathological or psychological condition. Jung also assessed the level of cortex, which is important to assess the conditions of stress, hypnosis and other psychic states. The level of cortex is also associated with skin conductivity (Mitchell, 2013, par.8). Jungian psychotherapy is associated with Jung’s theory, and it focuses on active imagination and depth psychology (GoodTherapy.org, 2013). The motives behind the problematic mental conditions are studied and addressed in this therapeutic approach.

Source of the issue is addressed rather than the symptoms. When the therapist identifies the source motive of the problem, he works with the client to transform that motive into positive feelings and motives. However, a concept of counter-transference is associated with this approach, in which the therapist conveys his own wounded feelings on to the client in case both have undergone the same type of situation (Tan, 2011, p.90). ReferencesCherry, K. (2013). Carl Jung biography (1875-1961). About.

com: Psychology. Retrieved Oct 8, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/jungprofile.htmGoodTherapy.org. (2013). Jungian Psychotherapy. Retrieved Oct 8, 2013, from http://www.goodtherapy.org/Jungian_Psychotherapy.htmlMitchell, G. (2013). Use of the psycho-galvanometer. Carl Jung and Jungian Analytical Theory. Retrieved from http://www.trans4mind.com/mind-development/jung.htmlTan, S. (2011). Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective. USA: Baker Academic.