Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He is credited as the founder of analytical psychology. He was a prolific writer, whose work influenced the fields of philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, literature, and religious studies.
Carl Jung was born in Switzerland on July 26, 1875. He began his life as the only child of four that survived. His father was a pastor, and his mother was depressed and not around very often. He had a difficult childhood and was bullied growing up.
The bullying eventually became so severe, that Carl began fainting anytime he had to go to school. Doctors and his parents were baffled by this illness, and they even considered that he may have epilepsy. One day he heard his father lamenting that he would not finish school or be able to live on his own. Jung somehow developed a renewed focus on learning.
Carl was determined to understand more about the human mind and body. He knew that his illnesses were real, but were not caused by any known medical condition. He studied psychiatry to find answers to his own mental health issues.
After working with mental patients, he wrote a book entitled Studies in Word Associations. He sent this book to the famous psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud. He became friends with Freud, who posed theories about the unconscious mind. Jung longed to understand the mind through a person’s dreams. When he started a period of self-analysis, he used those reflections to develop theories about psychoanalysis. He lost colleagues and friends who did not understand his theories.
Jung believed that the mind had three important parts: ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious. A person could not become their true self if they did not integrate all three parts.
Jung is best known for his theories on human psyche, dream anaysis, and his ideas about personality archetypes. He wrote many books that directly impacted the study of the human mind. Though he had a large number of critics, and controversial ideas at the time, Jung made an enormous impact on psychiatry including psychotherapy. He is credited with establishing Alcoholics Anonymous.