title: Thinking individuation forward.
abstract: This paper extends Jung's theory of individuation as faithfully elaborated by Joseph L. Henderson in his authoritative book Thresholds of Initiation. It addresses analyses that continue over very many years with analysands said to be individuated and proposes psychodynamics that explain and support such work that is otherwise beyond formal theoretical justification. In so doing, the paper addresses both Jung's and Henderson's refusal to explore the relevance of metaphysics for psychology and offers both a theoretical corrective for this shortcoming and a clinical illustration in support of an expanded point of view. In the course of the paper, personal material from interviews with Dr. Henderson, aged 101, serve as a substrate, both to support the above considerations and to shed new light on the development of his thought that led to Thresholds of Initiation.
authors.affiliation: San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tresan
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003469:Culture; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D007602:Jungian Theory; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000523:psychology; D008678:Metaphysics; D009769:Object Attachment; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D013561:Symbolism; D013850:Thinking; D014167:Transference, Psychology