Erich Neumann’s Developmental Relational Theory — A Synthesis

This course presents Neumann’s theory of psychological development throughout life, as it differs for men and women, emphasizing the establishment of the “Ego-Self Axis,” during early life and primal relationship. By synthesizing Neumann’s writing, a consolidated Jungian archetypal developmental and relational theory emerges, that is faithful to C. G. Jung’s original writing while elaborating on them to describe the stages and phases of consciousness development.

We will also explore the theoretical background of Jungian child analysis. While relational theories describe the individual child and his relationship with his primary caregiver, Neumann’s theory describes the nature of the archetypal mother/child relationship, which enables healthy psychological development of psychic structure. This nature manifests the foundation for which individual deviation occurs, and thus crucial for the child analyst to hold in mind when making a diagnosis. In addition, as psychological development is determined archetypally, the conjunction point between the personal and the archetypal is the decisive element in diagnosis.

Neumann’s writings will be presented as a cohesive theory of the different archetypal stages of psychological development, for both genders, from infancy through childhood to adulthood, culminating in the individuation process. The course will also describe the meaning and importance of matriarchal consciousness, which is central in Neumann’s theory.