Jungian Psychology Blogs There are a lot of excellent blogs being written in the world of Jungian Psychology and I want to use this space to bring attention to some of what is out there. This is just a sampling of some of the posts that have caught my attention this month. My hope is […]
Author Archives: Jason E. Smith
What is Jungian Career Counseling?
Career Counseling is essentially a process that can help you to come to know yourself and the world of work better in order for you to make career, educational, and life decisions. Career counselors work with people across the full spectrum of life’s stages, including adolescents and young adults just entering the work force, experienced professionals […]
The Art of Finding Your Life’s Work: Entering Silence
One of the most eloquent writers on the subject of finding your life’s work is the poet David Whyte. There are very few people talking about the subject of work with his level of depth, imagination and insight. Because Whyte is a poet, it is not surprising that throughout his writing there are sentences that ring […]
How to Answer the Question “Am I Depressed?”
First of all, let me acknowledge that this is a complicated topic that does not allow for a simple answer. This post is not intended to be a comprehensive view of depression. Rather, I want to suggest a few things to consider if you find yourself grappling with the question, “Am I depressed?” In particular, […]
Carl Jung on Living an Authentic Life
Individuation and Authenticity It could be argued that at the heart of Jungian therapy is the aim of experiencing and living an authentic life. That is not the language that Carl Jung used, but it does express a central idea of his psychology, which he called ‘individuation.’ Put very simply, individuation is the process by […]
How To Find Yourself: Advice From The Poets
Many of the people I work with describe the primary experience that brings them into therapy as one of feeling lost. It is probably not surprising that for several decades now it has been common for people who are on a path of self-exploration and self-development to express their quest in terms of “finding themselves.” […]
Is ‘What Should I Do With My Life?’ The Right Question?
Asking Questions “The mere formulation of a problem,” said Einstein, “is far more often essential than its solution.” In other words, when a scientist thinks about an issue, it is the kinds of questions that she asks that are most important. This idea is no less true in everyday life than it is in the […]
Working Wounded: Seven Signs It’s Time for a Career Change – Part 2
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net This is the conclusion of a two-part post in which I examine several common experiences of discontent at work, as seen through the days of the week. In part one, I introduced signs #1-3: Monday Mourning, Terrible Tuesday, and “Can’t Get Over the Hump Day.” This second post resumes […]
Working Wounded: Seven Signs It’s Time For A Career Change – Part 1
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net At first glance, it might seem strange to have to spell out the signs of discontent and exhaustion at work. But these days, probably more than any other time in our history, we have become desensitized to unhealthy behaviors and experiences. Not only are we busier than we have ever […]
The Number One Factor in Successful Career Counseling Outcomes
“The way we imagine our lives is the way we will go on living our lives.” ~ James Hillman With imagination, the sky’s the limit In my experience as a Jungian career counselor, the clients who engage their creative imaginations more effectively during the time I work with them are more successful in the career counseling […]