Psychotherapists and the clergy: Fifty years later.

The author examines two of Jung's articles on psychotherapy and the clergy, written in 1928 and 1932, from a perspective fifty years later and drawing on personal experience analyzing members of both vocations. The author notes that relatively few people achieve the kind of ego integration Jung describes—an essentially religious experience in which one's center gravitates around the Self. Nevertheless, Jung's work has profoundly affected spiritually inclined people of all ages. The article examines the predictions Jung made in those articles regarding therapy, the dissemination of psychology to the masses, and other issues.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Jung's two powerful articles on psychotherapy and the clergy, written in 1928 and 1932. are looked at from the vantage point of fifty years later and the author's experience in conducting analysis with many people from both vocations. He notes that relatively few people achieve the kind of integration of the ego that Jung writes about-an essentially religious experience-wherein the center of their existence now gravitates about the Self. Yet Jung's work and views have had a profound effect on spiritually inclined people of all ages. The predictions of Jung's articles, regarding therapy, the dissemination of pyschology to the masses, and other issues are examined.