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Old May 19, 2008, 04:11 PM
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sunrise sunrise is offline
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Member Since: Jan 2007
Location: U.S.
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My therapist is eclectic and if I had to pick one approach that is his primary, it would be Humanist. As part of his humanist approach, he does some Gestalt, which I believe derives from Jung. The psychodynamic parts of his approach follow from Jung rather than Freud. I don't think he is big follower of Freud at all. Our therapy has been focused on resolving past trauma that is hanging me up in present day. We do Gestalt dreamwork, work with ego states, do EMDR, lots of cool stuff. He does not do CBT. He has recently sent me to a psychiatric nurse practitioner to perhaps try some meds. She is also a psychotherapist and is a Jungian. I will see her for the first time this week--should be interesting.

In general, my own beliefs align more with Jung than Freud, so my T is a good match for me. My T is quite spiritual and believes that can be a component of therapy and personal growth--however, we have not explored this. My T is definitely not the stereotypical, neutral, cold Freudian. In alignment with his Humanist approach, he is warm, our relationship is mutualistic, he self discloses, and he is a master at providing basic positive regard and empathy. He doesn't give too many interpretations, but does occasionally. (I believe he sees it as more meaningful if the client makes interpretations but he has definitely pointed stuff out when I couldn't connect the dots.)

What I would ask you is whether are drawn to Carl Jung? If you like some of his beliefs and ideas, perhaps the Jungian approach would be a good fit and worth trying. In other words, go for it. (And report back here!)
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