Intro to Depth Psychology a Quick Overview

Author: Christopher Chayban

Depth Psychology shows the degree to which we are whole. It is the study of how unconscious processes in the psyche manifest or influence consciousness.

Whether it is shamanism or exorcism, depth psychology has always been aiming to know what lies in between the visible and the invisible. However, a gradual systemization and “branding” began with Franz Mesmer’s theory of “Animal Magnetism,” which was important for establishing a rapport with the patient.

From Mesmer, we go to Jean-Martin Charcot, whose contributions inspired Freud and Janet. Charcot’s study of the responses to autosuggestions in hypnotism contributed to Janet’s “fixed ideas” which would later evolve into Jung’s elaborated theory of complexes.  His study of Hysteria opened the door for Freud, and his libidinal sex theory. The neurotic lives of individuals (that was to him) nothing more than the result of sexual maturity and moral conscience.

The genius of Freud lies in his model of the psyche, which consisted of easy to use terminology. The terms “id, ego, and superego” would lay the groundwork for Jung to break out the psyche into a complex elaborated system of persona, shadow, and “The Self,” to name a few.

Often going unnoticed, Alfred Adler’s contribution tells us that the psyche is not only a reducible artifact of history, but also a teleological and living entity that strives towards future goals. Freud’s “pleasure principle” and Adler’s “will to power” became analogues for explaining Jung’s theories extraversion and introversion.

Freud’s daughter, Anna and student Melanie Klein contributed to the new invention of “object relations” theory. They applied psychoanalysis to children. Anna fleshed out the varieties of ego defenses, while Melanie brought the concept of “good breast/bad breast.” Klein was central in influencing D.W. Winnicott’s notion of the “transitional object” and Kohut’s “self-object.” Both theorists were concerned with the “intrapsychic experience of objects.

John Bowlby’s attachment theory classified children into “secure” and “insecure” attached. Bowlby was important to depth psychology, because he was able to scientifically ground the manifestations of the psyche in a predictable manner.

Lastly, Jung’s main contribution was the theory of the “Collective Unconscious.” His study of dreams, typology and individuation in the context of religion/mythology brought meaning back into the lives of those who felt that they have gone astray.

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