Touching the Jungian Psyche: A Subtle Hermeneutic Inquiry into Energy Healing Therapy

Abstract

Throughout the ages, humankind has continuously explored the unseen world in an attempt to make sense of the mysterious cosmos and our place within it (Eliade, 1964/1992; Lockhart, 2010; Tarnas, 2006). Standing upon the shoulders of ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions, Jungian depth psychology and energy healing therapy alike engage with this subtle world based upon the ontological assumption of an underlying dynamic energy involved in life processes (Ellenberger, 1970; Shamdasani, 2003; Shealy, 2011). Each contains its own worldview and therapeutic approach for working with this mutable energy while valuing the common aims of healing and transformation. Although sharing similar roots, the two disciplines are seldom brought together in the existing literature. Drawing upon seminal texts by C. G. Jung, this subtle hermeneutic inquiry examines how energy healing therapy might be reimagined from a Jungian depth perspective. The study considers the subtle body as a psychological perspective and an epistemological tool of subtle perception. The archetypal dimensions of energy are extensively explored using a depth psychological approach to inquiry (Coppin & Nelson, 2017). The emergent findings are examined through Jungian theoretical, archetypal, and alchemical lenses. The implications for depth psychology include the potential addition of an energetic orientation and interpretive framework to therapeutic practice, increased awareness about the archetypal nature of energy and the subtle body, and the opportunity to broaden the depth tradition to include Jungian- oriented subtle touch therapy.