Dear Therapist: Jung & Personal Growth

Jung used to say that you can't do therapy for someone who is beyond you in your development... As intimidating as this can be, I believe that because some of our clients are beyond us, they can teach us how to become better practitioners. 

This morning, I had a man my age and similarly introspective. Sometimes his introspection led him into walls he couldn't get past. He'd attempt to think about his future so much that he'd stifle himself in action. "Do I continue with a PhD program? Do I continue in this research lab I'm in? Do I attempt both? Which direction do I turn?" And unraveling these questions, we found that they arose from anxiety over wanting certainty in his life from an early age. Similarly, I looked for the same as a child, not knowing that being a twin came with a need for reciprocal validation in close relationships. 

As I ponder my own fear of uncertainty myself, I may come to a more nuanced way to help him. Until then, I'll let him sit with the same uncertainty. These points of personal shortcomings may only become revealed to us in time, or with my own example, reflection