Analytical Psychology, Depth Psychology
Carl Gustav Jung
ETH Zurich; C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich · 1875–1961
Key work
Collected Works (20 volumes) (1953–1979)
What they contributed
Jung developed analytical psychology, departing from Freud to propose the personal unconscious (repressed individual material) and the collective unconscious (shared human archetypes). His concept of the Shadow — the repository of all that the conscious mind has rejected, suppressed, or not yet integrated — is the foundation of shadow work. He proposed that what remains unconscious drives behavior, and that psychological maturation (individuation) requires the conscious integration of shadow material rather than its permanent suppression.
Why it matters here
Jung's shadow is the conceptual foundation of every shadow work article on this site. His process of individuation — the movement toward wholeness through the integration of disowned parts of the self — provides the psychological framework for understanding why healing is not about becoming 'better' but about becoming more complete.
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