We are proudly an independent association(*) of Jungian psychologists.  

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Our mission is to spread the ideas of Carl Gustav Jung – whose work remains very unexplored, even among ‘Jungians.’
We are based in Portugal, but our intentions are global wide. Continuing the vocation of Portuguese navigators, famous for once having given the world new worlds, we navigate the psyche. As psychonauts, we embrace this world of discoveries that the psyche represents.

(*) Note that we do not intend to be connected, nor do we have any connection with the “International Association for Analytical Psychology.”

 

What is our position and in which we differ from other associations? 

 

First, defending the substantial reality of the archetype as the specificity of analytical psychology. Archetypes are not adjectives or metaphors. Accept that archetypes are real biological algorithms inherited from our evolutionary past, human behavior becomes meaningful, especially significant in situations of high emotional density in which we act according to old rules or patterns. Unfortunately, given that mainstream contemporary psychology gives little or no importance to the archetypal framework, it fails to understand human behavior in-depth. Accordingly, analytical psychology can become the new paradigm in psychology, bringing together the partial views of cognitive-behavioral psychology, psychoanalysis, humanist psychology, social psychology, and others’ perspectives in psychology at a superior abstraction level. We are, therefore, at the shores of a new psychological era. The awareness of archetypes makes them evolve into more adaptive and updated forms with the reality we live in.

 

Second, defending that we are not “Jungian psychoanalysts.” Psychoanalysis is psychoanalysis; analytical psychology is something else. This conceptual retreat to a different paradigm by some non-psychologists is assumed to be a deviation from the Jungian realm that we denounce and stand out.

 

Third, to the same extent that it is expected to be a medical surgeon operating a patient – and not a lawyer or an economist –, we argue that the clinical practice of analytical psychology belongs to psychologists or psychiatrists (provided they specialize in analytical psychology). At the dawn of a new area, it was not expected to work according to normal science parameters: in heroic times, like Jung’s, we can’t be surprised that laypeople took on the role of specialists. But times are different, and Psychology is today the area of knowledge where psychotherapies fit, as advanced specialties (or practical aspects) of it.

 

Therefore, we are really proudly an independent association of Jungian psychologists. Our mission is to spread the ideas of Carl Gustav Jung – whose work remains very unexplored, even among ‘Jungians.’