Wholeness is a difficult concept to understand in any field. Psychology
and psychotherapy are no exceptions. If wholeness is the goal of our
deepest human desire, how best can we work toward that goal over our
lifetime? What path is right for us?
In this book, Murray Stein argues that practicing wholeness is relevant
to many areas of our lives: our private inner worlds; our religious
beliefs, images, and rituals; our organizational involvements; and our
cultural paradigms. Practicing wholeness is a daily activity with
implications at cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels.
Stein sets out a general concept of wholeness and attempts to detail
what it is made up of by using Jung's theory of instincts and
archetypes. He focuses on daily life and on the clinical practice of
psychotherapy, exploring the relation of psychotherapeutic treatment to
human nature. Finally, he examines several aspects of treatment as these
confront the practicing therapist and the patient: the reconstruction of
personal history and its meaning; the nature of the relationship between
therapist and patient, and the role this plays in the healing process;
and some psychopathological problems that stand in the way of practicing
wholeness.
Murray Stein, Ph.D. is a supervising training analyst and former
president of The International School of Analytical Psychology in
Zurich, Switzerland (ISAP Zurich). His most recent books include
Outside Inside and All Around, Minding the Self and The Principle of
Individuation. From 2001 to 2004 he was president of the International
Association for Analytical Psychology. He lectures internationally on
topics related to Analytical Psychology and its applications in the
contemporary world. He is publisher emeritus of Chiron Publications and
is the focus of many Asheville Jung Center online seminars.
