On Being a Whole Individual

Freud’s contemporary, Carl Jung, believed that one of the main purposes of therapy was to assist clients in their process of individuation. By individuation, he meant the development of the individual from the universal. I believe that there are people in therapy primarily because they have been unable to achieve individuation on their own. Take a young man for example, one who suffers from depression and has agreed to see a counsellor. This is a young man who is a hard worker and is successful in his career, but he has let every other aspect of his life stay empty: relationships, home, hobbies, etc. To measure this person’s lack of individuation, the counsellor could explore the extent to which the person identifies himself through his career and discuss with the client what would happen if he were to lose his job. Another client may identify so closely with their disability, that they cannot see themselves as a complete individual. A person who has achieved individuation is self-confident and does not rely on external factors: job, friends, home, physical abilities to define who he/she is. According to Jung, a person who has achieved individuation has become a psychological individual who is whole and recognizes his own innermost uniqueness (Schlamm. 2014). Are you whole, or is there something missing? Could that something be leading you to depression?

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