Individuation and Mid-Life Transitions

Jung’s idea of becoming a whole person requires an individuation journey. With any individuation process, we must anticipate feeling guilt as we leave the old behind. As part of this process of leaving behind the old worn out ideas about who we are and what we do, we investigate new ways of living and expressing ourselves. We may feel burned out, be tired of our job, career or our caretaking style. We suddenly realize our relationships and parenting roles are shifting. We may also have a spiritual or creative crisis that ushers in a complete reevaluation of our life.

Traditionally, we hear that mid-life brings about sudden buying of a red sports car or having an affair. However, mid-life brings a change of consciousness too. If we hold the impulses of radical and immediate change, sit with the urgent thoughts and feelings, study our dreams, and explore our imagination rather than concretizing the psychological force that is pushing up from the unconscious, a mid-life transition may offer a doorway into a new attitude towards life and new levels of consciousness. In our work we will explore the deeper connections to your inner world as directed by the unconscious. Such soul searching can be both painful and nourishing; sometimes it is an opportunity that we can do nothing else but embrace with full commitment, vulnerability and courage.