Jung noted in Memories, Dreams, Reflections the importance of seeing the “image in the emotion” as a process of his own healing and recognized the “translation of emotions into images” as beneficial in therapy. From this starting point, we will take an emotional lens to Jung’s work, discussing how feelings and emotions are embedded in some of his central ideas, such as “feeling-toned” complexes, the feeling function of his psychological types, and the process of transformation in analytical psychotherapy. 

Jung’s work finds wisdom in emotions and their interconnection with images that predates current theories of emotional intelligence.  Insight into emotions can be a key to the mysteries of the psyche and a path to greater depth-oriented awareness.  Finding the images in emotions indicates a highly advanced understanding of the extensive nature of emotions as dynamic processes and links emotions to metaphors, symbols, and dream material.

As a psychological construct that has received notable empirical support in recent decades, emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to use emotions for personal development and adaptation.  These abilities allow us to stay engaged with difficult or challenging emotional states (such as encounters with shadow) and can enhance analytic work and the individuation process.  The four major abilities associated with EI include: (1) the recognition or perception of emotions; (2) the facilitation or use of emotions in thinking; (3) clarity and knowledge of emotions; and (4) regulation or management of emotional states.  In this presentation, we’ll explore connections between EI and the analytic therapy process and will use experiential activities to understand our emotions more fully. 

John Pellitteri, PhD, is a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist and creative art therapist who has been in clinical practice for over 35 years.  He is a psychologist and a professor in the Graduate Programs in Counseling at Queens College-City University of New York.  As the co-founder and past president of the International Society for Emotional Intelligence (ISEI), he has been an invited speaker on emotional intelligence in many countries around the world.

John is the co-editor/author of three books and several research studies examining EI as it relates to adaptive personality, education, counseling and creative arts. He presented on music therapy and Jungian analytical psychology at a recent conference of the International Association for Jungian Studies and on the integration of emotional intelligence and Jungian work at the Journal of Analytical Psychology conference in England.  He serves on the program committee for the Jung Society of Washington.