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Psychoanalysis and Coaching - February 2022

Stillpoint Spaces Panel Discussion among Dr Kevin Lu, Samantha Whetstone and Dana Dubrvaska on the growing dialogue between the disciplines of psychoanalysis and coaching, as part of Stillpoint Spaces' series on "Psychology and Culture".

Meaning of Citrinitas

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Citrinitas (also referred to as xanthosis or “yellowing”) was the third phase of the four-stage alchemical process of transformation (the magnum opus) (Jung, CW12:333). From a psychological perspective, Carl Jung proposed that this alchemical transformation is paralleled in an individual's process of psychological transformation during his or her lifetime, as he or she integrates unconscious aspects of themselves with consciousness in order to achieve wholeness (Jung, CW12:40ff). Specifically, citrinitas has been interpreted to refer to the "colouring (yellowing) of psychological life” through the meeting of the opposites of one's inner-facing personality (insight) and one’s outer-facing personality (engagement) (Saban, 2019, ch.6). It has also been viewed as encompassing “brighter illumination, clarifying vision”, which involves intellect, the discernment of analysing oneself, and a “dawning of multiple vision…beyond subjectivity” (Hillman, 1991, p.85).

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Extending this to coaching, citrinitas can represent the moments of dawning and awakening experienced by an individual as they develop increased self-awareness and the understanding of blind spots, repetitive unconscious patterns, or alternative perspectives and possibilities during the coaching process. I therefore believe that coaching has a key role to play in facilitating and accelerating lifelong psychological growth, transformation and individuals becoming who they are ultimately meant to be in the world.

 

References
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  • Butler, J. A. (2014). Archetypal Psychotherapy: The Clinical Legacy of James Hillman.

  • Hillman, J. (1991). “The Yellowing of the Work” in Personal and Archetypal Dynamics in the Analytical Relationship: Proceedings of the Eleventh International Congress for Analytical Psychology, Paris, 1989 (pp. 77-102). Edited by M. A. Matoon. 

  • Jung, C. G.  (1953-83).  The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, 20 vols. Sir Herbert Read, Michael Fordham, Gerhard Adler (Editors).  William McGuire (Executive Editor).  R. F. C. Hull (Translator).  (References are to the Collected Works (CW) and by volume and paragraph number).

  • Nagel, C. (2020). Psychodynamic Coaching: Distinctive Features.

  • O’Brien, B. & O’Brien, N. (Ed). (2020). The Professional Practice of Jungian Coaching: Corporate Analytical Psychology. 

  • Saban, M. (2019). ‘Two Souls Alas’: Jung’s Two Personalities and the Making of Analytical Psychology. 

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