depth psychotherapy

Depth psychotherapy is a term to describe a range of analytic psychotherapies that focus on bringing to light and understanding the deeply unconscious motivations and factors that drive us. Although the term was first coined by Eugene Bleuler in the 19th century, it is now understood as stemming from the analytic processes of Freud, Adler and Jung. My approach is Jungian.

In all of us, a great deal of the motivations that underlie our seemingly conscious thoughts, behaviours, feelings and actions are unconscious. Our minds store unprocessed experiences from the past, and this influences how we feel and think. Until we make the unconscious - conscious, whatever we could not endure in the past can unconsciously "act out" despite our conscious efforts to control it. Societal, collective and archetypal forces also affect how we think and act.

Depth psychotherapy works with the whole individual, considering one’s somatic felt sense, intuitions, feelings and soulful and creative capacities as important as one’s thinking. The emphasis is on discovering one’s more complete self and making better relation to one’s hidden aspects. This leads to a deep self acceptance and untangles the unconscious compulsions that so often drive us to exactly where we do NOT want to go. It also can lead us to discover aspects buried within us that envision our future potential and thus put us on track to become our more fully self-actualised selves.

Things are explored from all angles as there is a recognition that everything has a dual aspect - buried in what might seem bad is always some hidden good, and even the most noble motivations have a hidden shadow. We are more grounded in ourselves and more free to act from choice rather than compulsion when we understand all these aspects in ourselves more fully.