Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud:
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What if two of the most influential psychoanalytic thinkers of all time, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud were to work together to treat someone suffering from a crystal meth addiction. What would their approach be? How would they combine their theories and techniques to help someone overcome this devastating addiction?
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- Jung believed that addiction is a symptom of a deeper psychological problem and saw it as a way of coping with unresolved trauma, conflict, or meaninglessness in life. Jung would first strive to understand the underlying psychological factors that are contributing to the problem.
- Jung would use dream analysis, word association, and active imagination to help this person understand their unconscious mind.
- Using therapeutic techniques such as talk therapy and art therapy, Jung would help this person work through any unresolved issues.
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- Freud might see this person's addiction as a way of coping with anxiety and conflict. He would also probably see it as a regression to an earlier stage of psychosexual development. So Freud would probably delve into understanding the patient's early childhood experiences and how they may have shaped this person's personality.
- Freud would probably use free association and some other techniques such as dream analysis and transference to delve into this patient's unconscious mind.
- Freud would then use some therapeutic techniques such as talk therapy and resistance analysis.
- "Transference and resistance are the pillars of psychoanalytic inquiry theoretically as well as clinically" (Frank 2012).
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If they set aside their differences and just agreed to disagree, then they would likely combine their approaches in a number of ways. They could use Jung's dream analysis techniques to understand the patient's unconscious mind, and then possibly use Freud's free association techniques to help the patient work through some unresolved issues.
What if they combined their different perspectives on addiction. Jung might view the patient's addiction as a symptom of a deeper psychological problem, while Freud might view it as a way of coping with anxiety and conflict. I don't see why they couldn't meet on common sacred ground and form an effective treatment plan for this patient.
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I am only a student but this is my dream scenario:
- Session one
- Jung and Freud meet with the patient for an initial assessment and ask the patient about their addiction, and early childhood experiences, and gather relevant information.
- Session two
- Jung steps up and meets with the patient for a dream analysis session by having the patient recall a recent dream and possibly interpret the dream's meaning.
- Session three
- Freud would step up and do a free association session with the patient. Hopefully, Freud would pick up on patterns and themes in the patient's thoughts.
- Session four
- Jung and Freud could come together to discuss their findings from the individual sessions and develop a combined treatment plan for the patient consisting of dream analysis, free association, and talk therapy.
- Ongoing Sessions:
- Jung and Freud would continue to meet with the patient on a regular basis to help them work through their addiction and underlying psychological issues by using a variety of techniques to help the patient develop some new coping mechanisms and live a more fulfilling life.
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References
Frank, G. (2012). On the concept of resistance: Analysis and reformulation. Psychoanalytic Review, 99(3), 421–435. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1521/prev.2012.99.3.421
