Apolo enters de Junguian clinic

reflections on countertransference

Abstract

In face of the argument that the world should stop being Apollonian or the Jungian analyst should move away from Apollo, this study reflects on the real need of interdicting Apollo in analytical practice. For this, the different approaches that characterized the god of the Greek mythology as a complex and multifaceted figure were rescued. His presence in the psychologist’s office led to the study of transference and counter-transference. As a tool for analysis those characteristics of Apollo were highlighted, which seemed most striking in the possible interference with clinical work: power and emotional detachment. In the form of judgment, referring to the condemnation of logos in the Jungian milieu, this work became a statement in defense of Apollo and all the gods for there is no need for the sacrificium intellectus. The analytical temenos reveals itself as an arena of voices, the stage of polytheism, where all the gods can and should be present with no interdiction to one or the other, for the analyst to fulfill his role.