Making use of Active Imagination within Clinical Practice

Active Imagination is a therapeutic method developed by C.G. Jung, that engages the reality of the unconscious – those aspects of our psyches outside of our conscious ego identity. The process of Active Imagination involves an intentional encounter with the unconscious in the form of images, figures, emotions or moods as they may emerge in dreams, waking reveries, fairytales or image making processes. It is an active attempt to come to terms with the unconscious either within or outside of analysis. Jung states: “you give a chance to your unconscious to create its own figures into visibility where your conscious can deal with them (Shamdasani, p9).” In this lecture, Mary will focus on the use of active imagination as described by Jung and on the ways she uses active imagination within analysis. She will share two clinical examples: one making use of image making, and the second using a fairytale and dreams.