Our freedom extends only as far as our consciousness reaches.

Beyond that,

we succumb to the unconscious influences of our environment.

 --- C.G.Jung, CW13, pp153

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Analytical psychology approaches psychotherapy in the tradition of C. G. Jung.

It is distinguished by a focus on the role of symbolic experiences in human life,

taking a prospective approach to the issues presented in therapy.

This means that while one’s life history is of great significance for understanding one’s current circumstances, the current circumstances also contain the seeds for future growth and development……

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Jung’s particular insight, however, was his recognition that

individuals are also influenced by unconscious factors that lie outside their personal experience,

and which have a more universal quality.

These factors, which he called archetypes, form the collective unconscious,

and give shape to the more universal narratives, myths and religious phenomena

that shape the larger context of human experience.

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The analytic process is intended to bring these factors, both personal and collective, into consciousness, allowing the individual to see more clearly what forces are at play in his or her life.

This is the process of individuation, which has the larger goal of providing the individual

with the resources to shape their life going forward.

 

Source: www.iaap.org