The Jungians: A Comparative and Historical Perspective

As someone who has been personally involved in many aspects of Jungian history, Thomas Kirsch is well equipped to take the reader through the history of the Jungian movement, and to document its growth throughout the world, with chapters covering individual geographical areas - the UK, USA, and Australia, to name but a few - in some depth. A lively and well-researched key work of reference, The Jungians will appeal not only to those working in the field of analysis, but is also essential reading for all those interested in Jungian studies.

The Jungians describes the history of the development of analytical psychology as a profession. C.G. Jung has long been considered only as a deviant from Freud and psychoanalysis, but The Jungians shows how Jung's psychology has emerged into a worldwide movement of its own with professional groups in many parts of the world.

Analytical Psychology
C.G. Jung, anointed by Sigmund Freud to be his successor in 1908, became his foremost critic, and consequently developed his own method of analysis named "analytical psychology." Both temperamentally and because of his earlier experience with Freud, Jung was not interested in forming a professional group of "Jungians." Shortly after World War I, Jung was sought out by people from all walks of life, many of whom wanted to become analysts. As Jung's ideas spread worldwide, there was increasing pressure for formal training and accreditation of analysts, to which Jung only reluctantly agreed.


Four Countries
Four countries, Switzerland, England, the United States, and Germany, have had a continuous Jungian presence since after World War I, and each country has a truly unique history: Switzerland by virtue of the fact that Jung lived there; Germany, because of the Nazi influence and Jung's relationship to this phenomenon; England and the United States, because large numbers of people in both countries were attracted to Jung's psychology. Biographical data on the founders in each of these countries is given. An international association to accredit the growing number of analysts was founded in 1955 and its history is described. Following Jung's death in 1961 analytical psychology has developed as a world wide phenomenon, and professional groups exist in many other countries today.

History of the Profession of Analytical Psychology
Significantly, The Jungians is the first study to trace the history of the profession of analytical psychology from its origins in 1913 until the present. It has been demonstrated that most of Jung's early students were introverts, seeking a sense of meaning and spirituality in their lives, which a Freudian psychoanalysis had not provided.

Also, many of Jung's early followers were German Jewish, forced to emigrate during the Nazi era, who subsequently formed new Jungian groups in other countries. Jung's activities during the Nazi period are examined in the light of documents showing that he had little use for Nazism, which represented the kind of collective psychology he abhorred.

About the Author
Thomas B. Kirsch was President of the International Association of Analytical Psychology form 1989 to 1995, and President of the Jung Institute of San Fransisco from 1976 to 1978. He currently works in private practice in California, and is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School.


304 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 7, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0415158619 Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0415158602 Hardcover