Peggy Vermeesch interviews Jungian analyst Mark Saban, author of Two Souls Alas: Jung’s Two Personalities and the Making of Analytical Psychology. We explore the basic premise of the book, its clinical implications, and Saban’s motivations for this work, which he presented in the 2019 Zurich Lecture Series.
In this interview Mark Saban posits that for the Jungian world to individuate, the personal and the archetypal must meet and be brought into tension with one another.
This article explores how a therapist can accompany the type of patient whose healing and transformation depend on being given a second chance to experience a healthy parental first love through the myth of Star Trek.
In addition to the need for good boundaries, it is crucial to genuinely enjoy and love our patients when the coniunctio is constellated.
I explore the myths that surround sexuality, and the danger of abuse and long-term harm in a disturbed maturation process. I highlight the inequality in societal empathy, care, and protection for men. Using Rutter’s (1989) theories I discuss both potential and danger of « forbidden zone relationships ».
In light of Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s theories of the New Ethic, I explore the collective unconscious in its devouring and destructive shadow aspect, as illustrated by the Borg in Star Trek.
Published on JPS as a series of 3 articles:
A later version has also been accepted for publication in "Psychological Perspectives":
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Star Trek’s new Borg: Transformation of the collective Shadow according to Neumann’s New Ethic (2025)
Growing up with a narcissistic parent has long-term harmful effects. In this work I explore what fairy tales can teach us in terms of breaking this cycle of intergenerational trauma.
Published on JPS as a series of 3 articles:
Shorter articles on the same subject (in French) have also been published on "psychologue.net":
As a complement to C.G. Jung’s theory of the psychological functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition), Wolff developed an innovative theory of the feminine psyche. One path to individuation is integrating all four structural forms or types.
Doing this work brings wholeness and a full life, and it provides some protection against the shadow possibilities of each archetype. This is equally true for women and men, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The archetypal forces that are active deep within our unconscious call for expression, somehow, whether we ask for it or not, and whether we want it or not.
We don’t know in what form their call will come, nor to what purpose, but they will find a way into our conscious outer life. Our ego is instrumental in reducing the raw power of these archetypal forces.