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There are three major models of healing: medical, shamanic, and psychoanalytic. In the first, the doctor does it to you; in the second, the intermediary does it for you; and in the third, Jung\u2019s dialectical process, we work together to discover \u201cthe curative powers in the patient\u2019s own nature.\u201d Just as every wounded patient has inner health, every healer has an inner wound. If consciously known and borne, the analyst\u2019s wound serves the healing process.

In Greek myth, Chiron symbolizes the wounded healer, a term Jung originated. A wise and noble centaur, Chiron suffered a painful, incurable wound\u2014and inspired many a Greek hero to reach full potential. Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis attract wounded healers. A recent survey shows that 82% of applied psychology graduate students and faculty in the U.S. and Canada experience mental health conditions. We must be willing, like Chiron, to embrace the darkness of our painful places if we hope to help others embrace theirs.\xa0

Here\u2019s the dream we analyze:

\u201cI had just moved into a house with new roommates. One of the roommates was an African American social media personality, and the other roommate was a Latinx man. As a white woman with a privileged background, I felt like an intruder, but was excited to be living with them. In the first week, I get back to the house, and no one is home. In one of the shared spaces, the \u2018social media personality roommate has left out materials for one of her projects where she has two mason jars that have been fermenting and infusing for weeks. Both jars are filled with a clear liquid, where the top half of the liquid is red, and the bottom half is blue. One jar is labeled \u201cseparated,\u201d and the other doesn\u2019t have a label. Since I\u2019ve seen her video about this on social media, I know that if the labeled jar is shaken, the colors will stay separated, and with the unlabeled jar, they will mix into a purple. Without thinking, impulsively, I grab the unlabeled mason jar and tip it over, watching the colors bleed into each other. I give it a shake, and it turns into a gorgeous, bright, light, almost neon purple. Immediately I realize what I\u2019ve done and that I can\u2019t separate the colors again. I\u2019ve destroyed my new roommate\u2019s weeks of patient work. I feel horrible. I pray for it to reset, but I know it\u2019s too late. I\u2019m in a fancy German University library with my boyfriend. I\u2019m a mess, confessing what I had done. I need to tell my roommate that I am sorry and that I promise I will never touch her work again, but I don\u2019t actually know her real name or phone number. My boyfriend and I are scouring all sources to find a way to contact her: emails, texts, social media, but she uses multiple monikers, and we can\u2019t figure out her real name. I\u2019m sobbing and self-conscious of making noise in the uptight library. My boyfriend tries to lighten the mood and loudly says, \u201cIf I\u2019m ever going to have kids, I\u2019m going to do it when I\u2019m 27, not when I\u2019m 34\u201d as a type of joke, which causes a stir in the quiet library and generates some laughter. I\u2019m embarrassed and feel helpless. I know what I want to say to her to apologize, but I am missing key information to be able to contact her.\u201d

RESOURCES:

Learn to Analyze your own Dreams:\xa0 https://thisjungianlife.com/enroll/