Jung’s Psychoid Concept Contextualised investigates the body-mind question from a clinical Jungian standpoint and establishes a contextual topography for Jung’s psychoid concept, insofar as it relates to a deeply unconscious realm that is neither solely physiological nor psychological. Seen as a somewhat mysterious and little understood element of Jung’s work, this concept nonetheless holds a fundamental position in his overall understanding of the mind, since he saw the psychoid unconscious as the foundation of archetypal experience.
Situating the concept within Jung’s oeuvre and drawing on interviews with clinicians about their clinical work, this book interrogates the concept of the psychoid in a novel way. Providing an elucidation of Jung’s ideas by tracing the historical development of the psychoid concept, Addison sets its evolution in a variety of contexts within the history of ideas, in order to offer differing perspectives from which to frame an understanding. Addison continues this trajectory through to the present day by reviewing subsequent studies undertaken by the post-Jungian community. This contextual background affords an understanding of the psychoid concept from a variety of different perspectives, both cultural and clinical. The book provides an important addition to Jungian theory, demonstrating the usefulness of Jung’s psychoid concept in the present day and offering a range of understandings about its clinical and cultural applications.
This book will be of great interest to the international Jungian community, including academics, researchers and postgraduate students engaged in the study of Jungian or analystical psychology. It should also be essential reading for clinicians.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
PART I Historical Contexts
Chapter 2 Jung, vitalism and ‘the Psychoid’: An historical reconstruction
Chapter 3 Jung’s psychoid concept: an hermeneutic understanding
Chapter 4 Jung’s psychoid concept and Bion’s proto-mental concept: a comparison
Chapter 5 The post-Jungians and the psychoid concept
Chapter 6 Interrogation of the psychoid concept: An empirical study
PART II Empirical Contexts
Chapter 7 The empirical study: An example of a data analysis by grounded theory
Chapter 8 The results of the empirical study
Chapter 9 Conclusion: Drawing together the results
Reference List
Appendix A
Biography
Ann Addison completed her PhD at the University of Essex in July 2016 and currently teaches and works as a Jungian Analyst in private practice.
"Jung only used the term ‘psychoid’ occasionally, and mostly in works published towards the end of his life. Yet the term signals themes of the relationship between mind and body and between mind and matter that are pivotal for an understanding of his entire psychological project. In this book, through detailed historical reconstruction and innovative empirical research, Ann Addison has clarified as never before both what Jung meant by ‘psychoid’ and how the concept now informs the thought and practice of contemporary analysts. Lucid, authoritative, and rich in both clinical and scholarly insights, Jung’s Psychoid Concept Contextualised deserves to become a key reference point in the study of Jungian theory and praxis."
Professor Roderick Main, Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex.
"Depth Psychology in the 21st century is undergoing some fundamental changes and expansions. Dr. Addison’s reexamination of the concept of the psychoid is a very valuable contribution in furthering our understanding the full range of the psyche, especially its fuzzy margins. By embracing the new holism found in complexity theory she grounds and revivifies the links between psyche and nature, moving us towards a much needed re-visioning of our models of consciousness and the mind."
Joe Cambray, Ph.D., IAAP, President, Pacifica Graduate Institute.
