depth psychology

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June 25, 2026

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Depth psychology is a term used to describe psychoanalysis or psychology that focuses on the unconscious mind. This approach, pioneered by Sigmund Freud, posits that unconscious motives and desires, particularly sexual and aggressive ones, drive much of human behavior and mental illness. The therapeutic goal is to make the unconscious conscious.123

A related field is analytic psychology, developed by Carl Jung. Jung emphasized immediate conflicts over childhood issues and included the concept of a "collective unconscious" inherited from ancestors. He also categorized people into introverted and extraverted types based on their dominant mental functions.4

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religious symbolism and iconography
Relation to other areas of culture
Psychoanalysis and depth psychology have reevaluated the role of the religious symbols and have used them in interpreting psychological processes, such as in the works of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Jung interprets religious processes as symbolic ones and emphasizes the growing of individual and social symbols…
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Psychoanalysis and depth psychology have reevaluated the role of the religious symbols and have used them in interpreting psychological processes, such as in the works of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Jung interprets religious processes as symbolic ones and emphasizes the growing of individual and social symbols…
Read More