This four-part series draws from Roberto Assagioli’s lecture ‘Jung and Psychosynthesis’. Part One is an introduction to the two psychologists for those at the beginning of their psychosynthesis journey.
- Read the first lecture – ‘Introduction’
- Read the second lecture – ‘Therapy‘
- Read the third lecture – ‘Therapy and Education‘
Introductions
Assagioli said, ‘Among psychotherapists, Jung is one of the closest and most akin to the conceptions and practice of psychosynthesis.’ In 1966 Assagioli gave a three-part lecture of his survey comparing some of the fields in Jungian Psychology that are closely concerned with psychosynthesis. These include:
- the structure of the psyche of the human being;
- the dynamics of the psychic energies;
- and the methods of psychological therapy and education.
First, an introduction to both psychologists and their key concepts.
Carl Jung (1875 – 1961)
Carl Gustav Jung, born in 1875, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who founded the idea of Analytical psychology or Jungian psychology.
Whilst working as a psychiatrist in Switzerland, Jung discovered Sigmund Freud’s work, the originator of psychoanalysis. They first shared contact in 1906 and began to collaborate. However, in 1912, Jung published ‘Psychology of the Unconscious’ clearly separating his work from that of Freud’s after their different ideas of the subconscious.
It is thought that the core of Carl Jung’s theory system that differed to Freud, was the belief that the whole of the individual’s experience should be respected and included, and the fundamental view of the psyche was that the mind and the ‘unconscious’ could largely be trusted.
Whilst it would be too intricate to summarise the entirety of Jung’s work, which has evolved over his years of research and with many analytical therapists continuing to expand the work, there are many of Jung’s concepts that our popular today. These include introversion and extroversion, complex, persona, archetypes and collective unconscious.
Roberto Assagioli (1888 – 1974)
Roberto Assagioli was born Roberto Marco Grego in Italy in 1888. In 1891, following the death of his father, Roberto’s mother married Dr. Emanuele Alessandro Todesco Assagioli who adopted Roberto. In 1904 the family moved to Florence, where Roberto Assagioli enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine of the Institute of Higher Studies.
In 1905 Assagioli became interested in the psychoanalytical movement and began to travel, widening his range of interests such as studying Indian philosophy. His travels included a trip to Zurich where Assagioli comes across Jung. In 1907 Assagioli became a member of the Freudian society and by 1909, he was among the first to bring psychoanalysis to Italy, alongside other pioneers of the psychoanalytic movement.
However, by 1910 Assagioli articles demonstrated he had developed his ideas beyond Freud’s models preceding Jung’s break by a few years.
- His article in the ‘La Voce’, called ‘Le idee di S. Freud sulla sessualità’ (‘S. Freud’s ideas on sexuality) shared an ambivalent opinion about Freud’s concepts of sexuality,
- and his article in the ‘Rivista di Psicologia Applicata” named “La psicologia delle idee-forze e la psicagogia” (Psychology of ideas-forces and psychagogy”), proposed a vision of man containing the key points of psychosynthesis, which include connecting with higher manifestations of human nature, beyond pathology.
Influenced by:
- Raja Yoga (which concerns with the cultivation of the mind and meditation),
- Karma Yoga (concerned with intention, action and will), and
- the writings of Alice Bailey, Assagioli studied philosophy and theology, drawing on Buddhism, Jewish and Christian mysticism for his thinking. What truly set Assagioli apart from his contemporaries was his belief in the existence of Self, and the particular methods devised to help a person discover their true essence; this can involve either personal development, transpersonal development or both. Roberto Assagioli agreed with Freud that developing a healthy ego by healing childhood trauma was a necessary aim of psychotherapy but held that human growth could not be limited to this alone.
In developing psychosynthesis, Assagioli sought to address human growth and unlock human potential into what Abraham Maslow later identified as self-actualisation, and – further still – into the spiritual or transpersonal dimensions of human experience.
References
Elkind, D (1970), ‘Freud, Jung and the Collective Unconscious’, The New York Times, 4 October. Freud, Jung and the Collective Unconscious – The New York Times (nytimes.com, (Accessed 22nd June 2023)
Hopwood, A (n.d), Jung’s model of the psyche, The Society of Analytical Psychology. <Jung’s model of the psyche by Ann Hopwood| Jung and the Ego – The SAP > (Accessed 22nd June 2023)
Istituto di Psicosintesi Archivio Assagioli (n.d), Cronologia della vita. Available at Archivio Assagioli (Accessed 23rd June 2023)
The Psychosynthesis Trust (n.d), The heritage and history of psychosynthesis. Available at History of Psychosynthesis – The Psychosynthesis Trust (Accessed 23rd June 2023)
Rosselli, M and Vanni, D (2014), ‘Roberto Assagioli and Carl Gustav Jung’, The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, April. untitled (psykosyntesakademin.se) (Accessed 22nd June)
The Society of Analytical Psychology article Analytical Psychology – An Overview (n.d), The Society of Analytical Psychology. <Analytical Psychology – an Overview of Jungian Psychology (thesap.org.uk)> (Accessed 22nd June 2023)
The Society of Analytical Psychology article About Carl Jung (n.d), The Society of Analytical Psychology. <Carl Jung | Biography, Archetypes & Beliefs | The SAP> (Accessed 22nd June 2023)