The shared life

a study of couples therapy and self discovery

Abstract

Through analytical psychology, this article intends to reflect on the relationships of couples and their symbols and to understand the relevance of these components within the therapeutic process. This work understands the relationship of a couple as a phenomenon which can help the individual to give new meaning to their life experiences, in a way to facilitate the individuation process, promoting changes in their psychic structure. The article is based on the concept of animus and anima archetypes and related images in order to demonstrate how these contents set the psyche in motion. It becomes evident that, like other archetypes that compose the psychic structure, the energy related to animus and anima can corroborate the understanding of psychodynamics and of certain human actions, which move the individuals for the search for a partner, as a way of feeling wholeness in their life experiences. The article goes on describing how these energies can be perceived on experiences of couples in these days, in search for self knowledge. At the end, the possibility of approaching the archetypes of anima and animus and their influence in conjugal projections, is demonstrated through Jungian psychology, presenting in what way, this knowledge may result useful as a therapeutic tool for the analyst who works with couples therapy contents.