Monday 4 November 2013

Accessing C. G. Jung 7. Becoming a Jungian analyst

Image:  Rajeshodayanchal
Becoming a clinical psychologist is not going to be easy. You would usually need a degree in psychology with a fairly high average before even being considered for a clinical degree program. However, such an educational route is much like any other field -- you can leave high school, apply for a university degree program in psychology and go on from there. As an example, here are the requirements from my local university. You will not see anything much different from the requirements of advanced levels in many other fields.

In comparison, now look at the PDF brochure for the  International Training Program at the C. G. Jung Institut Zürich. For a start, even being admitted carries the following requirements:

"Those applying for the training must be at least 25 years of age and must be able to provide evidence of having graduated from a university or university of applied sciences as well as 50 hours of self-experience in analytical psychology."
In other words, don't even think about analyzing others if you have not been analyzed, yourself. I dare say that the thought of undergoing analysis, oneself, does not even cross the minds of most students applying for other degree programs in psychology. If you pass the admission requirements, 300 more hours of being analyzed forms the core of the program. In addition to that, and the study programs, there is also an internship requirement -- "at least 12 weeks of 40 hours per week, part-time internships last correspondingly longer."

With the regular universities, the clinical practitioner programs require a pre-requisite degree in psychology, but at the Jung Institut the degree requirements are broader -- but, as we have seen in this series, Jungian psychology is not restricted to the cure of neuroses and psychoses, but is used by mythologists and novelists, and can be applied to just about any discipline -- Jung's own major development of his theories came from the subject of alchemy! No subjects are exempt from a Jungian approach -- there is even some crossover to quantum physics, postmodernism and transdisciplinarity.

Yet the subject of Jung is mainly treated as "historical" in most university programs in psychology. One might well speculate (perhaps cynically) on why this should be so.

12 comments:

  1. Mr. Hooker, thank you for your thoughtful article. Can you clarify what "50 hours of self-experience in analytical psychology" means exactly? Thank you so much for your time.

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  2. Thank you for your kind comment, Dr. Alvarez. The student must _receive_ 50 hours of analysis from a qualified Jungian analyst as part of their course requirements. While this certainly adds quite a bit to the student's expenses (and I'm not sure if they get any discount), I think it is a very good idea and should only make them more empathic to their future patients.

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  3. You're welcome, and thank you so much for your time; your knowledge is impressive to say the least. I was looking for clarification, because I started my hours here in Tampa, Florida; but my analyst is now overseas. There is no one in my immediate area with the required IAAP certification; so either way, finishing up would require travel. At U.S. Institutes it's 100 hours, so kinda cool it's only 50 to qualify in Zurich. Now I'm just trying to determine if it has to be face-to-face or not, or whether I can finish up with Skype sessions, in order to keep my analyst, whom I have already bonded with. Of course it's a great idea and the more intimate the better, but with analysts so scarce in certain areas, face-to-face is not always possible, without extreme sacrifice involved. If you can shed any more light on this fine point, I would certainly appreciate it. Either way, I appreciate what you have already shared; I already emailed my analyst to dig deeper, since she is a graduate.

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  4. It would certainly make more sense to retain the same analyst. Personally, I cannot think of any good reason that Skype sessions should be disallowed under these circumstances, but I imagine that a formal request would have to be made to the powers that be. I think you are right, though, about first discussing the matter with your analyst. Who knows? Perhaps there are no regulations in place about such circumstances and the last thing you would want would be to apply to someone with a more bureaucratic and literal "rules are rules' attitude!

    I wish you success, and if the matter is resolved in your favor, do let me know. I always enjoy hearing good news!

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  5. Thank you so much for your time and heartful attitude about this. It sounds like 'you' would be good at this! ( : I will bookmark your site, and would surely let you know what happens. Namaste, and thank you for the warm welcome into your space.

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  6. Thank you, I appreciate that! As an INFJ it comes with the territory. If I had my life to live over again I might follow that route myself (or become a marine biologist). Being an antiquarian, though, has its own rewards -- I have recently been nominated for a FSA (Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London) by Vincent Megaw, the foremost authority on early Celtic art, and have the required number of signatories. The next step is an election so I hope I will not be "blackballed"! The entire process is out of my hands --, one cannot even apply for an FSA. I suppose it is a bit like a lifetime achievement Oscar for an actor.

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    1. Your welcome. That is such an honor! Congratulations. Wow, that is really something to be proud of. I really look up to people like you, who house such a wealth of information; and I think it is really a gift the way you can be excited for, and passionately empathetic toward, people like me (who have more of a concentrated focus in our particular/concentrated area), across such diverse fields of thought.

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    2. Well put kindred soul; we are in fact, doing the same thing then. It is amazing you said that, because I was reflecting on the following quote just hours ago, printed it out, and had it laying beside me right here on my desk, when you said that:

      “Follow your bliss.
      If you do follow your bliss,
      you put yourself on a kind of track
      that has been there all the while waiting for you,
      and the life you ought to be living
      is the one you are living.
      When you can see that,
      you begin to meet people
      who are in the field of your bliss,
      and they open the doors to you.
      I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
      and doors will open
      where you didn't know they were going to be.
      If you follow your bliss,
      doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”

      - Joseph Campbell

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    3. And life becomes quite magical too!

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  7. With one subject, or many, when you (as Joseph Campbell said) "follow your bliss" it becomes a delight to see others do so as well -- after all, that is the only real subject, isn't it? :-)

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  8. I have "followed my bliss" (thank you Joseph Campbell), with my love of animals and a thirst for knowledge...It led me straight to you; my dear John. And from you, I am continuously following my bliss for you have opened up doors in my mind and have helped to give me the confidence, guidance, and plain old-all to often under appreciated...friendship; in order to help me help myself open my own doors to success! So thank you John, for being such an amazing man and confidante.

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    1. Awww, shucks, thank you Julie!

      Your friend,

      John

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