Analytical Psychology versus Biblical Counseling
Introduction
The western world is much focused on wealth and materialism. At the same time, many leave the church and abandon faith. Others have been raised as atheists or agnostics, arguing that there is nothing more than the psychical world. However, there are many that have psychological issues. Often, such people visit secular counselors for help them in these areas. The question, however, is how valuable these secular approaches are. Also, from a Christian perspective, one might ask whether these approaches are neutral or unscriptural. One of the therapies used is Analytical Psychology. This approach will be examined by and compared to both Scripture and Biblical counseling techniques. This paper will argue that secular counseling has a wrong foundation and leads people astray, while Biblical counseling when applied by the Holy Spirit will have eternal value.
Analytical Psychology
Analytical psychology was developed by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychoanalytic psychiatrist, who lived between 1875-1961.1 Another name used is Jungian Therapy.2
General Aspects
In Analytical psychology, various terms and concepts are used that need to be understood in order to have a grasp of the techniques that are used for healing a person. The terms and concepts play an important role in Jung’s psychology. The main terms and concepts are defined in Appendix I – Terminology and Key Concepts. First will be looked at the relation between psychological issues and healing by analytical therapy.
Relation of Analytical Therapy and Psychological Issues
The first question is how the abstract Jungian concepts have impact in the therapy to heal people from psychological diseases. For Jung, the main issue in psychological disorders is the disturbed unconscious. The techniques are used to approach the unconscious to remove the disturbance. Jung writes, “Now considering states in which the mental balance is disturbed, we can easily see…wherein lies the importance of the unconscious for psychopathology…We have known for a long time that certain symptoms of these disturbances are produced by unconscious psychic events.”3 If one’s unconscious is disturbed it will reveal itself in outward symptoms of psychological difficulty. In order to solve this issue, the analytical analyst reaches the unconscious by certain techniques, bring the issues to the surface, and work with it. Jung writes, “Psychoanalysis endeavors to overcome the disorders of the neurotic psyche through the sub-conscious, not through the conscious self.”4 The patient will be made aware of his unconscious and interact with it. The solution lies in the unity of the unconscious and conscious of the patient.5 Another author writes, “The psychoanalytic approach involves helping the patient to become aware of the repressed impulses, feelings, and traumatic memories that underlie his symptoms, thereby enabling him to achieve personality growth through a better and deeper self-understanding.”6 Tan writes, that the target is to achieve a patient’s wholeness.7
Methodology
Jung uses various methods to resolve a patient’s psychological issues. The four main ones are: individuation, dream interpretation, active imagination and (counter)transference.8 The first one is individuation.
Individuation
One way to solve the patient’s issue is by individuation. This is a process that the patients becomes more aware of the “self,” and integrates the unconscious with the conscious,9 with the aim of complete harmony.10 In a natural individuation process, the person will transition from the early stage of dependency to the later stage where the “self” becomes central.11 Jung defines, “[Individuation] is the process of forming and specializing the individual nature.”12 In this process the consciousness of a human is developed out of his identity.13 However, in case of a neurosis, this adaptation has failed.14 As the patient is often not aware of his unconsciousness, the one of the methods is to give the patient awareness and to foster this individuation process. Stein writes, “The goal of Jungian analysis is to foster the individuation process in the lives of clients.”15 In other words, one solution for issues in one’s life in analytical psychology is that the therapists helps the patient in awareness and cultivation of the individuation process.
Dream Interpretation
One tool that Jung uses to connect to the unconscious is by interpreting dreams. Though there are things in dream that a person has “consciously experienced” during the day,16 dreams are a window into the unconscious of a person. The consciousness is then in the background and the unconscious will take over. Jung writes, “In this dream we can discern a compensating function of the unconscious, consisting in the fact that those thoughts, propensities, and tendencies of a human personality, which in conscious life are too seldom recognized, come spontaneously into action in the sleeping state, when to a large extent the conscious process is disconnected.”17 Tanaka, a Jungian Analyst, argues that dreams is a medium to receive information about the “hidden inner life.”18 A tool to help the patient to interact with the unconscious is dream interpretation or dream analysis. Jung calls it the “real instrument of psychoanalysis.”19 For an analyst to interpret a dream, various steps are necessary. In general, these are the following,
1. Recording the Dream in Detail
2. Make Associations
3. Connect Dream Images to What’s Happening Internally
4. Interpret the Dream.20
First, the patient needs to write out his dream in detail. Jung calls this information “dream material.”21 The analyst gathers also as much history of the patient as possible. Second, the “images” in the dream will be connected to what happens inside a person’s unconsciousness. Next is the actual interpretation of these images in its proper context. Jung writes, “The analyst…collects the historical parallels to every part of the dream, even the remotest, and he tries to reconstruct the psychological history of the dream, with its fundamental meaning.”22 For Jung, dreams give have also a “prospective or teleological function.”23 The unconscious is busy with things that might happen in the future. Jung writes, “On the other side [the brain offers] a picture of the germinating knowledge of all that is to come, in so far as the psyche creates its own future.”24 It “represents a coming phase of psychological development.”25 This does not mean, however, that Jung argued for a prophetical function of prospective dreams, but it is only a representation how the unconscious thinks about the future.26 After an analyst has interpret the dreams, he can continue with asking the patient to change his behavior. In this way, the patient will be helped with certain of his psychological issues.
Active Imagination
Active imagination is another tool for the analyst to enter into the unconscious of the patient. This happens when a person is awake. One author defines, “Active imagination is a method of assimilating unconscious contents…through some form of self-expression.”27 Chaira would argue that this includes the “collective psyche,”28 which is another word for Jung’s universal conscious. This technique happen can be both happen spontaneous or done artificially. In case of the latter, the patient concentrates with his mind on a particular dream or a fantasy-image. During this process, the image will change. These changes are important for the analyst to know what happens in the unconscious.29 The patient is able to interact with the images and evaluate them. This can lead to a deep and thorough transformation how the patient functions and his relationship to the world.30
Transference and Counter-transference
Another tool at the disposal of the therapist is that of transference and counter-transference. Transference, or “projection,”31 is that a person unconsciously project a certain attitude towards another person. Jung defines, “The transference is in itself nothing but a projection of unconscious contents [from the patient] on to the analyst.”32 This is the projection from the patient towards the analyst the analyst. Related to this is counter-transference. A person to whom something is projected will act according to what is transferred.33 These two are no distinct phenomena but one, “One [is] concerning the patient and the other the analyst, but one and the same relational dynamic with therapeutic potentialities by its essentially symbolic nature.”34 Furthermore, Jung distinguishes between passive and active transference. The first refers to “an unconditional attraction upon the subject,” while the latter points to the “process of adaptation.”35 Transference is useful for the analyst to observe the behaviors that the patient communicates towards him. For instance, a patient that has difficult relationships, usually transfers unconsciously a negative behavior to the other party. The analyst can point these things out to the patient, upon which he can change his behavior towards the other party. Such relationships will become more honest and meaningful.36
In summary, the analytical analyst has four means at his disposal for dealing with a patient’s psychological issues. The first is individuation. He makes the patient aware of and fosters the process of integration of the conscious with the unconscious. The result is a wholeness in the life of the patient. Second is dream interpretation. Dreams give a window into the unconscious of the patient. In interpreting dreams, the analyst can determine the issues in the unconscious and help the patient transforming his behavior. The third tool is active imagination. The patient when he is awake concentrates with his mind on a dream or image. During this process the image will change. These changes give insight in what happens in the unconscious of the patient. Also, the patient can interact and reflect on these images. The last tool is that of transference and counter-transference. In this the patient projects a certain attitude towards the analyst. In analyzing this attitude, the analyst can determine the issue and exhort the patient in a change of thought or unconscious negative behavior.
Biblical Counseling
In contrast to analytical psychology, there is also a biblical approach called Biblical Counseling. These two do fundamentally differ from each other. The first uses secular methods to heal people, the latter uses biblical means to interact with psychological issues.
General Aspects
The first main difference with secular psychology is the foundation for Biblical Counseling, as this is the Scriptures.
The Scriptures are Foundational
The first key concept in Biblical counseling is that its foundation is the Scriptures. Adams said, “The Bible itself provides the principles for understanding and for engaging in nouthetic counseling and directs Christian ministers to do such counseling as a part of their life calling in the ministry of the Word.”37 In like manner, Lambert writes concerning the methodology of secular and Biblical counselors that the commitments of the latter grow out of the Bible.38 Blair explains that the Scriptures gives perfect knowledge that is necessary to counsel a person. This knowledge comes from God and recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.39 Key is that the Scriptures do not only contain perfect knowledge about God, man and salvation, but are also fully true and infallible. Beeke, in explaining the terms “inerrant veracity,” writes, “The Bible does not declare anything contrary to what is true and real, and all that it does declare is faithful and accurate, because it is the Word of God.”40 Therefore, the counselor needs the Holy Scriptures to counsel and must acknowledge that they are a trustworthy foundation for counseling. On the other hand, Christ condemns those that believe Scripture not to be sufficient as a rule of practice and faith. The pharisees placed their tradition above the Scriptures, but Christ judged them for doing this. Vos describes, “Jesus treats the Scriptures as a ‘rule of faith and practice.’ His gravest charge against the Pharisaic tradition-mongering is that for the sake of tradition it neglects the commandment of God.”41 This demonstrates that Scripture should be the only foundation, also for Biblical counseling. The Scripture, as the Belgic Confession speaks of its sufficiency, “fully contain the will of God.”42 Among Biblical counselors, however, there is a debate what the sufficiency of Scripture means. The first group are the t Traditional Biblical Counselors (TBC), who believe that Scripture alone is sufficient for counseling a person. They condemn any reference to secular counseling theories and research, because “it compromises the adequacy of God’s revelation in the Bible.”43 One of its proponents, McMinn, says, “Do secular disciplines have anything to offer to the methodology of biblical counseling? The answer is a flat no. Scripture provides the system for biblical counseling.”44 The other group are the Progressive Biblical Counselors (PBC). They believe that, though the Bible is sufficient for salvation and principles of Biblical counseling, one may use methods of secular counseling in a Biblical manner. Johnson states, “PBC proponents believe that the Bible does not provide an exhaustive discussion of Christian soul care, but it is comprehensive in scope.”45 Though both do believe in the sufficiency of Scripture, there is difference in its application. In the counseling process, Scripture will also be used and applied in various ways.
The Existence of God
A second key feature is the recognition of God’s existence. The importance of God’s existence, Brakel argues, is that without Him, no man would have ever existed.46 Lambert, reflecting on Jay Adams’ method, argues that the acknowledgment of God’s existence is key for counseling. He says, “An understanding of God’s existence, power and authority was central…to Adams’…own positive understanding of counseling.”47 Blair demonstrates that if God is no longer in view, something else will take its position in counseling therapy. The result is that secular psychology “exerts its authority over the masses.”48 In like manner, Brakel argues that “the denial of God’s existence can be detrimental and that a man can perish in consequence thereof.”49 Also, those that will deny God, will practice more ungodliness.50 However, when sin enters man’s life, God will give temporal punishment, which is one of the causes for psychological issues. Brakel writes, “Temporal punishments are either corporal or spiritual in nature. There are many corporal punishments, such as bodily want, sickness, discomfort, pestilence, war, times of scarcity, and death.”51 In other words, one of the reasons people do have bodily and spiritual issues is God’s temporal judgment over sin and iniquity. Rather than that the non-existence of God in counseling will help a patient it rather will cause more issues. However, the acknowledgment of God’s existence has twofold profit in counseling. First, God created man and knows how man functions. This means that God’s revelation about how to treat man will be most efficient in counseling spiritual illnesses. Second, God’s existence can give tremendous comfort in counseling. There is One that can heal a person with a power that is outside of his own strength.
Sin and the Consequence of Sin
Another main element in Biblical counseling is the doctrine of sin. This can either refer to sin that takes place in the life of a counselee, the sin done unto him, or any consequences of sin in his life. The first thing to notice is the misery in man’s life due to sin. Every person is born in sin and misery. Brakel writes, “Every man is born void of spiritual light, love, truth, life, and holiness.”52 Another result is how man sees God. Being sinful, he has now a fearful dread towards God. Vos writes, “Sin has fundamentally changed the mood of man in which he receives the supernatural approach of God…In the state of sin the approach of the supernatural causes dread.”53 Another consequence is that the counselee faces issues in his life. Weiss comments, “As by Christ, so also by James it is assumed that bodily sickness may be a consequence of sin.”54 It can be added here that this is also true for psychological illnesses. Therefore, it important to point the counselee to the issue of sin. Blair says that man should be brought back to the garden of Eden and show “the power of sin over every person living on the planet with no exception.”55 The truth is that in the garden, man took the forbidden fruit with the result of the curse upon his life. Vos writes, “We note the revelation of justice in the curses upon the woman and the man…The punishment of man consists in toil unto death…[that is] painful labour, death-bringing labour is referred to.”56 Second, it is important in Biblical counseling to show that original sin is the root cause for all kind of other sins. These sins, either done by the person itself or by someone else unto him, will cause certain issues in his life. Brakel says, “Original sin produces all kinds of actual sins.”57 Beeke argues a step further that even the denial of God’s existence will cause sin, “The denial of God in the heart is the fountain of sin.”58 The problem of secular counseling is that sin is acceptable. However, in Biblical counseling the sinner needs to be exhorted to turn away from his sins in order to be healed. Blair demonstrates this important distinction,
The worldly counselors have invested a tremendous amount of time putting certain labels on bad behavior (or unaccepted behavior) instead of calling them what they really are – sin…It is absolutely necessary, and imperative to lead the counselee to both put off the old life (unmasking certain behaviors) which are disobeying God’s commandments and at the same time leading the counselee to put something in the place of their bad behavior by putting on the new life and following God’s commandments of righteous behavior and/or religious activity.59
Therefore, it is needed that the counselor knows God’s commandments to be able to call out sin.60 Turning away from sin is necessary in order for a person to change truly.61 The counselor, in addressing sin, however, should not forget to demonstrate love in cases of suffering. This is also true for those who suffer as a result of their own sin. Lambert writes, “The strategy is to identify and engage the sufferings of counselees before engaging their sin.”62 This shows that the doctrine of sin and its consequence has an important role in biblical counseling.
The Solution in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
The major difference between secular and Biblical counseling is the ultimate solution. The former has the focus on and solution in man, the latter sees it in salvation in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Adams says, “Only their [the counselee’s] Creator and Savior can resolve problems that have to do with people ultimately.”63 He shows that the ultimate solution has to come from God’s rather than man’s side. Especially the third persons of the trinity that has great importance in Biblical counseling. This is not only true for guiding the counselor,64 but also for the change in the counselee, “It is God through His Spirit that makes the change in every believer. It is He who transforms us into His likeness with ever increasing glory.”65 Weiss comments that the Spirit causes a regenerated person to be free from the power of sin, “The norm-giving power of this Spirit has made them free from the norm-giving power of sin (Rom. 8:2), and the new condition of the life of the Christian is an effect of the Spirit.”66 In like manner, the Belgic Confession shows that both the Word and the Holy Spirit are needed to deliver a person from the bondage of sin, “We believe that this true faith, being wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God and the operation of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies him and makes him a new man, causing him to live a new life, and freeing him from the bondage of sin.”67 Moreover, the main solution in Biblical counseling lies in the salvation in Jesus Christ. This, however, is missing in secular counseling.68 Blair shows that this is applicable for those that struggle as the power of God is found in Jesus Christ alone, “We can be assured when we go to God that His divine power is sufficient to meet all of our needs in this life along with everything needed to make us godly. This gift is made available to us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.”69 In like manner, Weiss, points out the need for union with Christ for putting off the old man, “Through this Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, the believer enters into a living fellowship with Christ…In this living fellowship with the Christ who died and rose again, the believer dies as to his old nature and begins a new life.”70 Taking these things into consideration, the work of a triune God is important in guiding the counselor and changing the counselee is of utmost necessity in Biblical counseling. The power of the Holy Spirit can regenerate and sanctify him. The ultimate solution is only found in the salvation of Jesus Christ.
Methodology
The methodology of Biblical Counseling exists generally in three main steps: data gathering, instruction, and implementation.
Data Gathering
The first step in Biblical counseling is to gather all the necessary information. Lambert writes, “Biblical counselors are unanimous in their understanding of the importance of gathering good and accurate information about the counselee’s problems.”71 The first element to do this is that the counselor listens carefully to the counselee. Especially the latter is important that it is done thoroughly before the counselor speaks or treats the patient. Blair writes, “Until [the counselor] learn[s] how to listen then [he] only receive a small portion of what they are really saying. And when that happens your counseling is in vain because it does not solve the real problem thus smothering your counselee and leaving them in bondage.”72 Lambert points out that listening is both Biblical and profitable for counselor and counselee.73 He demonstrates that the Bible gives good reasons for listening, “The reality is that a person (counselor or otherwise) needs information before he or she is equipped to say anything helpful (Prov. 18:13).”74 The counselor has to listen to a patient’s real needs, and during this process of gathering data, Blair says, these needs will become clear.75 The second element how the counselor gathers data is by asking questions. Powlison gives two helpful questions that the counselor should ask. The first is to “ask questions about the situation the counselee is facing. [and the] second…to ask questions concerning what God has to say about the situation the counselee is facing.”76 Moreover, the manner in which information is gathered is not only by words, but specially through the patient’s body language. Blair writes that about 80% of the information transferred between counselee and counselor is via body language.77 These things demonstrate that the first step in counseling is gathering sufficient data.
Instruction
The second step in the counseling process is the counselor’s instruction to the counselee. For instruction, Scripture has an important role. This means that the counselor needs to know the Scriptures, especially in the areas of sin and salvation. Lambert writes, “Another area in which those in the biblical counseling community have consistently agreed is the methodological importance of instruction.”78 Mack says that this is already found in the Scripture itself. It is, he says, “a necessary part in every person’s spiritual growth and that it is indispensable in the process of solving problems.”79 However, obedience in the whole counseling process is only possible if both parties will listen to God’s instruction. This only happens in studying the Scriptures.80 Taking all this in consideration, the second main step in Biblical counseling is that the counselor gives instruction to the counselee out of the Scriptures for the required changes.
Implementation
The third step in Biblical counseling is the application or implementation of the counselor’s instruction in the life of the counselee. Though the first two steps are good in determining the issue and the solution, it will have no changing effect on the counselee without application. Lambert writes, “Biblical counselors are concerned to make their instruction come alive and bear fruit in the daily lives of their counselees as they become more and more like Christ.”81 The counselor should encourage the counselee to live according to Scripture. However, Blair also points out that in this, the Spirit is necessary to produce true fruits.82 Weiss writes, “The more the Spirit…becomes the determining rule of the whole of the Christian life, so much the more the antagonistic power of the flesh and of sin is broken, and righteousness and holiness are realized in man.”83 In other words, implementation of the given instructions from Scripture are essential. However, the work and power of the Holy Spirit are necessary in order to give true change and fruit in the life of the counselee.
Deficiency and Danger of Analytical Psychotherapy
In comparison with Biblical Counseling, there are a number of deficiencies of and dangers in analytical psychotherapy. The first issue is that God is absent in Jungian therapy
A Therapy without God
In the first place, Jung’s therapy is only centered on the counselee. Though Jung at times does refer to ‘god,’ it is different from the God of Scripture. He argues that ‘god’ is related to the psychic energy, “In the language of analytical psychology the concept of God coincides with that complex which, in accordance with the foregoing definition, combines within itself the highest sum of libido (psychic energy)…Even in the idea, God is not one constant Being, still less is He so in reality.”84 In another place, he defines it as a “symbolic expression of a certain psychological state.”85 In other words, the god for Jung differs from a transcendent Being that governs all of creation. Groothuis says, “Jung resolutely rejected the Christian view that God transcends the creation. Instead, he embraced pantheism, with its god within.”86 The question to Jung whether he believed in God, he said, “I don’t believe–I know.”87 In the whole process of ‘healing,’ Jung does not refer to the existence of the Biblical God, even less to let God heal the counselee. This shows that analytical psychology is man centered rather than God centered.
Absence of Scripture
In Biblical counseling, the Bible is foundational. This is not only true for the principles how to do counseling but also for the instructions given during counseling. However, in Jung’s therapy, Scripture is absent. Both the foundational principle for his theory differs, and also the manner in which the patient is instructed and brought to a solution. Jung’s foundation is his own research and science. Ultimately, the intellect of the human being rules overall, man’s autonomy, for Jung says, “Science, under all circumstances, is an affair of the intellect, and the other psychological functions are submitted to it in the form of objects. The intellect is sovereign of the scientific realm.”88 This demonstrates that man ultimately is his own foundation rather than the Scriptures.
Unbiblical View of Man
A third main difference of Jung’s therapy is the view of mankind. For Jung, man is independent and has ability for healing in himself. Tan writes, “The Jungian approach to counseling and therapy is therefore based on an essentially optimistic and positive view of human nature and the human ability for self-realization, although it does acknowledge the darker side of personality.”89 Moreover, Jung does not believe in sin, or that it is the root cause of issues in the world and the patients life. Jung describes sin only as an “inadequate emotional emphasis.”90 This means that there will be no confession of sin or a pointing out of sins in the life of a patient during the counseling process.
Solution in Man rather than Jesus Christ
As the root issue for Jung is not sin, his ultimate solution lies no longer in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit but in man itself. Groothuis writes, “Because Jung rejects the authority of a personal God outside of the individual, he can only look within for redemption.”91 For Jung, the solution is that man will integrate the unconscious with the conscious and change his behavior. The ultimate solution is man’s wholeness. Tan says, “Jungian therapy focusses on helping clients not only to make the unconscious conscious but also to integrate the unconscious with the conscious so that they can become more whole persons in the process of individualization, or becoming one’s own unique person.”92 In Jungian therapy, there is no place for Jesus Christ and His work of redemption from sin, and eternal death.93 This means that with the Jungian solution, man will be left with his problem and perish forever.
General Dangers
Beside a number of deficiencies of Jung’s approach, there are various dangers to his methodology. One of the techniques is called active imagination. However, Jung only came up with this theory after experimenting with the occult. Groothuis warns about this method, “Jung advocated ‘active imagination’ as means of connecting with the personal and collective unconscious in order to find greater personal wholeness. Much of modern visualization methods are rooted in Jung’s approach, which is itself based on spiritistic and occult methods for gaining access to the world of the spirits (see Isaiah 8:19-20).”94 Groothuis points out that all of Jung’s work was based on his interaction with the occult. For instance, “[My] conversations with the dead formed a kind of prelude to what I had to communicate to the world about the unconscious,”95 Jung writes. Another technique that has great danger is synchronicity. The patient will to see connections between “meaningful coincidences.” Events that happen seemingly without any connection but seemingly have a connection. However, Jung came up with this theory after he had paranormal experiences. Roderick Main writes, “Jung’s paranormal experiences and the resulting need adequately to understand them were probably the greatest influences on the development of his theory of synchronicity.”96 This shows the great danger of using Jung’s methodology. Rather than solving the issue, the therapist can bring the patient into contact with the demonic realm and draws him away from God.
Conclusion
There are different approaches in dealing with psychological issues, the secular and the Biblical approach. One of the secular approaches is analytical psychology, developed by Carl Jung. Man’s main psychological issue comes from a disturbed unconscious. The healing is done by various techniques. The first is individuation in which the counselee becomes more aware of his unconscious. The result is a wholeness between the person’s conscious and unconscious. Another technique is that of dream interpretation. Dreams are a window in the patient’s unconscious. By interpretation, the patient becomes aware of his unconscious and can act accordingly. The third is active imagination. This happens when the patient is awake. He concentrates in his mind on a dream or image. The image will change. This change demonstrates activity of the unconscious. Also, the patient will be able to interact with and reflect on these images. The last tool is transference. The counselee projects a picture on the analyst. When the analyst analyzes the patient in this, he gets insight in his unconscious attitude and can point this out. There are however great deficiencies in analytical psychology. The first is that God is absent. This also means that there is no moral law. A second issue is that there is no Scriptural foundation. Jung’s therapy depends on science and on the individual itself. The third issue is Jung’s view of mankind. He was mostly positive about man’s ability. The result is that the solution lies no longer in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, but the patient’s own power. Besides this, Jung’s therapy has great dangers as is based his occult experiences.
On the other hand, the Biblical counseling is more effective and founded. In the first place, it is based on the objective and unmovable Scriptures. Scriptures determines principles for counseling and the instruction given during counseling sessions. A second element is that God exists. This means that there is a transcendent Being that designed man, and is able to help him in the deepest troubles. Third, there is a place for sin and its consequences. In calling out sin, the patient can be helped greatly. In case the patient deals with consequences of sin, he can be helped from Scripture. Moreover, the solution lies not in man but in God. This is particularly true in the redemption in Jesus Christ, and the power and work of the Holy Spirit. This demonstrates that there are no helpless cases but that by God’s power all things are possible. In biblical counseling a certain method is used. First, the counselor gathers all data available. Second, he instructs the counselee from Scripture. Third is the implementation of the instruction. For this step, the power of the Holy Spirit is necessary.
Therefore, it can be argued that Biblical counseling compared to analytical psychology has a better and more unmovable foundation fixed in the blood of Jesus Christ for true believers. The value of this will be the activity of an all-powerful God in the most difficult cases, with the eternal value of the patient’s eternal welfare in case of true repentance and faith.
Appendix I – Terminology and Key Concepts
Jung defines a number of key concepts in his analytical psychology. The first is the Archetype. This concept is also called “a primordial image,”97 and they “are instinctive patterns, have a universal character, and are expressed in behavior and images.”98 Jung himself describes this concept as something that reveals itself by a living process.99 This does refer to something that is “empirical, alive, [or] phenomenal.”100
Another important concept for Jung is the Shadow. This points to something that the person is not aware of. Serebrennikova writes, “The shadow is everything that the ego-consciousness does not know about itself, the entire unconscious part of the personality.”101 This element can over time develop in a person into an individual shadow and a collective shadow.102 Jung argues that one should differentiate between a person and his shadow. The latter refers to his unconsciousness.103
The next concept is Self. Jung defines it as one’s totality. This includes the subconscious.104 In relation to the self, Jung also speaks of Persona. This is someone’s appearance to the outer world. Jung says that it is one’s “outer attitude, or outer character.”105 Britannica defines, “The persona enables an individual to interrelate with the surrounding environment by reflecting the role in life that the individual is playing.”106
The following concept is a major element in which Jung differs from other types of psychology, namely the Collective Unconsciousness. In Jung’s thinking, there are common elements that are shared by all human beings. It is “objective in nature,”107 and obtained by “collective heredity.”108 The importance of this concept for Jung is that the patient who struggles with certain issues will become aware that he shares the same experience as other people do. He then “comes out of the isolation of his neurosis.”109
An element that has great importance in treating patients with issues is Synchronicity. Cambray writes that this is “an acausal connecting principle, whereby internal, psychological events are linked to external world events by meaningful coincidences rather than causal chains.”110 In other words, the patient learns how to connect certain evens that happened in his life with the outside world. The patient will then understand his connection to nature. According to Jung, people will get some “signs” or “meaningful coincidences” in their life. After thinking about these relationships, Jung named it synchronicity.111 Michael Fordham says, he tried “to strip off the fantasy, magic, and superstition which surround and are provoked by unpredictable, startling, and impressive events that, like these, appear to be connected.”112 Jung himself defines this concept as, “a peculiar principle active in the world so that things happen together somehow and behave as if they were the same, and yet for us they are not.”113
1. https://www.jung.org/who-is-carl-jung
2. https://iaap.org/what-is-analytical-psychology/
3. C. G. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, trans by. Constance E. Long, 2nd ed. (New York: Moffat Yard and Company, 1917), 281–282.
4. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 208.
5. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 234–235, “By means of psychoanalysis the connexion between the conscious and the libido in the unconscious is reestablished. Thus you restore this unconscious libido to the command of conscious intention.”
6. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Neurosis,” Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., https://www.britannica.com/science/neurosis (accessed September 22, 2021).
7. Siang-Yang Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 83.
8. Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy, 89–90.
9. Murray Stein, “Individuation,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 2, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Individuation.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
10. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious, trans by. Beatrice M. Hinkle (New York: Moffat Yard and Company, 1916), 440–441.
11. Stein, “Individuation,” 3.
12. C. G. Jung, Psychological Types, trans by. H. Godwyn Baynes (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1923), 561.
13. Jung, Psychological Types, 563.
14. Jung, Psychological Types, xiv.
15. Stein, “Individuation,” 4.
16. C.G. Jung, The Theory of Psychoanalysis (New York: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co., 1915), 60.
17. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 307.
18. Yasuhiro Tanaka, “Dreams,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 4, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Dreams-Yasuhiro-Tanaka.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
19. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 211.
20. Jonah Calinawan, “How to Analyze a Dream Using Jungian Dream Analysis,” July 17, 2020, https://jonahcalinawan.com/blog/jungian-dream-analysis/ (accessed September 29, 2021).
21. Jung, The Theory of Psychoanalysis, 61.
22. Jung, The Theory of Psychoanalysis, 63.
23. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 220.
24. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 341.
25. Jung, Psychological Types, 536.
26. Jung, The Theory of Psychoanalysis, 110.
27. “What is Active Imagination,” Carl Jung Resources, n.d., https://www.carl-jung.net/active_imagination.html (accessed September 29, 2021).
28. Chiara Tozzi, “Active Imagination,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 3, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Active-Imagination.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
29. C. G. Jung, “The Collected Works of C.G. Jung,” in Synchronicity – An Acausal Connecting Principle, trans by. R.F.C. Hull, vol. 8, Bollingen Series XX (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), para. 706.
30. Tozzi, “Active Imagination,” 2–3.
31. Jung, Psychological Types, 362.
32. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 409.
33. “Transference and Counter Transference,” Center of Applied Jungian Studies, n.d., https://appliedjung.com/transference-introduction/ (accessed September 29, 2021).
34. François Martin-Vallas, “Transference and Countertransference,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 3, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Transference-and-Countertransference.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
35. Jung, Psychological Types, 567.
36. “Transference and Counter Transference.”
37. Jay E. Adams and Jay E. Adams, A Theology of Christian counseling: More Than Redemption, The Jay Adams Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resource Library, 1986), ix.
38. Heath Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2012), “3. Advances in How Biblical Counselors Do Counseling.”
39. Daniel W. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling (S.l: s.n, 2015), “Competent to Counsel.”
40. Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology, vol. 1, 4 vols. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), “The Properties of the Written Word, Part 3 – Inerrant Veracity Defined.” Emphasis added.
41. Geerhardus Vos, Biblical theology: Old and New Testaments (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), 359.
42. Guido De Bres, Belgic Confession, 1561, https://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-belgic-confession-circa-1561-a-d/, VII.
43. Eric L. Johnson, Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 117.
44. Heath Lambert, “Biblical Counseling vs. Christian Counseling: What’s the Difference?,” Zondervan Academic, September 30, 2017, https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/biblical-counseling-vs-christian-counseling-whats-the-difference (accessed September 29, 2021).
45. Johnson, Foundations for Soul Care, 122.
46. Wilhelmus À Brakel, The Christian’s reasonable service., edited by. Joel R. Beeke, trans by. Bartel Elshout, vol. 1 ([S.l.]: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), 3.
47. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “Constructing a Biblical Approach to Counseling.”
48. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Secular Counseling.”
49. Wilhelmus À Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, edited by. Joel R. Beeke, trans by. Bartel Elshout, vol. 4 ([S.l.]: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), 197.
50. À Brakel, Christian’s Reasonable Service, 4:196.
51. À Brakel, The Christian’s reasonable service., 1:411–412.
52. À Brakel, The Christian’s reasonable service., 1:389.
53. Vos, Biblical theology, 21.
54. Bernhard Weiss, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, trans by. David Eaton, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1882), 272.
55. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Effective Counsel Begins at the Cross.”
56. Vos, Biblical theology, 44.
57. À Brakel, The Christian’s reasonable service., 1:395.
58. Beeke and Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology, vol. 1, p. , “26. Introduction – The Perversity of Rejecting the True God.” Emphasis added.
59. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Put God’s Word in your Heart.”
60. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Put God’s Word in your Heart.”
61. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Ineffectiveness of Worldly Counseling.”
62. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.6. Counseling that Addresses Suffering before Sin.”
63. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “4. Beginning the Apologetic Task.”
64. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Seek Guidance from the Holy Spirit.”
65. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Growth is Essential.”
66. Weiss, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, 1:456.
67. De Bres, Belgic Confession, BC XXIV.
68. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “4. Beginning the Apologetic Task”.
69. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Everything Needed.”
70. Weiss, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, 1:454.
71. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, 3.1. Consistency in Information Gathering”.
72. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Learn How to Listen.”
73. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.1. Consistency in Information Gathering.”
74. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.1. Consistency in Information Gathering.”
75. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Learn to Communicate Effectively.”
76. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.1. Consistency in Information Gathering.”
77. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Learn to Communicate Effectively.”
78. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.2. Consistency in Counseling Instruction.”
79. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.2. Consistency in Counseling Instruction.”
80. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Put God’s Word in your Hearts.”
81. Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams, “3.3. Consistency in Counseling Implementation.”
82. Blair, Guiding Principles for Biblical Counseling, “Growth is Essential/.”
83. Weiss, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, 1:472.
84. Jung, Psychological Types, 61.
85. Jung, Psychological Types, 300.
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87. Groothuis, “The Hidden Dangers of Carl Jung.”
88. Jung, Psychological Types, 75.
89. Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy, 83.
90. Jung, Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, 320.
91. Groothuis, “The Hidden Dangers of Carl Jung.” Emphasis added.
92. Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy, 88–89.
93. Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy, 97.
94. Groothuis, “The Hidden Dangers of Carl Jung.” Emphasis added.
95. C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, edited by. Aniela Jaffe, trans by. Clara Winston and Richard Winston (Vintage Books, 1989), 234.
96. C.G. Jung, Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal, edited by. Roderick Main (London: Routledge, 1997), 7.
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99. Jung, Psychological Types, 557.
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102. Serebrennikova, “The Shadow,” 1.
103. Jung, Psychological Types, 203.
104. Jung, Psychological Types, 540, “The Self is the subject of my totality : hence it also includes the unconscious psyche.”
105. Jung, Psychological Types, 594.
106. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Persona,” Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., https://www.britannica.com/science/persona-psychology (accessed September 29, 2021).
107. Walter Boechat, “The Collective Unconsciousness,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 3, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-collective-unconscious.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
108. Boechat, “The Collective Unconsciousness,” 2.
109. Boechat, “The Collective Unconsciousness,” 3.
110. Joe Cambray, “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,” International Association for Analytical Psychology, n.d., 1, https://iaap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Synchronicity.pdf (accessed September 29, 2021).
111. Joe Nickell, “‘Visitations’: After-Death Contacts,” Skeptical Inquirer, September 1, 2002, https://skepticalinquirer.org/newsletter/visitations-after-death-contacts/ (accessed September 29, 2021).
112. Jung, “The Collected Works of C.G. Jung,” 7.
113. Cambray, “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,” 9.