The name
"Dialegesthai" is a word from ancient Greek that first appears in Plato's works. The ancient philosopher used it to describe his way of philosophizing, which he understood as "the conversation of the soul with itself." Socrates, the main character in most of Plato's dialogues, his teacher and friend, engaged his interlocutors in the important work of jointly seeking truth. In the soul's conversation with itself, every person, like the ancient sages, can reach the Truth: the most important truth, their truth, the truth about themselves. To avoid getting too lost on this path, it's worth having someone who will accompany us, someone we can lean on in difficult moments and who will rejoice with us in our successes. Such a person is a therapeutes, "one who waits for another," a caretaker, a therapist.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a method of working with psychological suffering through conversation. The Greek word psyche meant: "spirit," "soul," "breath," and therapeia: "healing," "recovery." Psychotherapy therefore serves to "heal the soul" (today we would rather say: the psyche), and a psychotherapist is one who helps in its "illness," suffering, and difficulties.
Currently, there are many types (modalities) of psychotherapy and many schools. From a historical perspective, one could say that psychoanalysis is the mother of psychotherapy and Sigmund Freud is its father. However, reality doesn't tolerate simplifications, and if we look closer, we can find various forms of "soul healing" throughout the centuries in almost all places and cultures. Someone who appreciated and readily drew from these deep sources of psychotherapy in his theory and practice was Carl Gustav Jung. This Swiss psychiatrist, psychologist, and scientist expanded the understanding of psychotherapy, which initially dealt only with medical cases (neuroses). Jung claimed that the main goal of psychotherapy is individual development, and he called the process serving this purpose individuation.
Jung, who at the beginning of his professional career was strongly connected with the psychoanalytic movement, developed his own approach based on unique ideas that laid the theoretical foundations for so-called analytical psychology. This psychology reveals a complex picture of the human psyche, which contains many elements: consciousness and unconsciousness, fantasies, instincts, and archetypes; dynamic, individual, and collective forces that shape our lives.
To discover what lies within us, to know ourselves in psychotherapy and Jungian analysis, we reach for various products of psychic life: memories, dreams, reflections, fantasies, visions, intuitions, fears, desires, and emotions. In the psychotherapist's office, we look together at what's happening inside the patient and try to understand where it comes from, what it means, and where it leads us. We analyze images, operate with symbols, search for emotions and knowledge, in body and mind.
In therapy, we meet at regular times at least once a week for 50-minute sessions.
If you are interested in meetings within Jungian psychotherapy, or if you're wondering whether I'll be able to help you, feel free to get in touch!
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