This memorial lecture introduces Erich Neumann’s theory of early psychological life as a foundational framework for Jungian child analysis and developmental theory. Participants will examine Neumann’s conceptualization of the stages of ego development during childhood, the archetypal dimensions of the mother-child relationship, and the establishment of the ego-Self axis through early relational experience. The lecture also addresses potential disturbances and pathologies within this developmental sequence, drawing on case material to illustrate clinical applications. The development of child analysis within the Jungian tradition will be traced, with particular attention to the complementarity and divergence between Neumann’s archetypal-developmental framework and Fordham’s model of early individuation.
Learning Objectives:
This course is designed to help you:
- Describe the archetypal dimensions of the mother-child relationship as formulated by Erich Neumann, including the concept of the primal relationship and its developmental significance.
- Identify and describe the sequential stages of ego development in Neumann’s early life theory and explain the process by which the ego-Self axis is established.
- Articulate at least one point of theoretical complementarity and one point of divergence between Neumann’s archetypal-developmental model and Fordham’s approach to early individuation.
