Historically, the use of imagination has primarily been the domain of artists and creative individuals. More recently, however, psychotherapists have begun to recognise the value of imagery and imagination as a therapeutic tool, leading to the development of various approaches. This paper specifically addresses the dangers of active imagination, as conceptualised by C G Jung.
The primary danger in using this process is the potential for being overwhelmed by the unconscious. Let's examine different categories of individuals who engage in active imagination:
- Spontaneous
Users: Some
individuals discover active imagination spontaneously and have used it for
years without encountering any dangers.
- Drug-Induced
Users: Other
individuals may discover it spontaneously, often through the use of
recreational drugs. These individuals are at a higher risk of being
overwhelmed. They require assessment by a psychotherapist familiar with
active imagination, and periodic evaluations are essential. They should
also diligently follow any advice given.
- Therapeutic
Users:
Individuals seeking psychological help may engage with active imagination
as a psychotherapeutic tool. The process might come naturally, or they may
need to learn it, typically through the guidance of a psychotherapist.
- Self-Development Users: Others may use active imagination for self-development and personal exploration. The same cautions outlined above apply to these individuals.
Visual types should concentrate on the expectation that an
inner image will be produced. As a rule such a fantasy- picture will
actually appear—perhaps hypnagogically— and should be carefully observed and noted
down in writing. Audio-verbal types usually hear inner words, perhaps mere fragments of apparently meaningless sentences to
begin with, which however should be carefully noted down too. Others at such times simply hear
their “other” voice. There are indeed not a few people who are well aware that they possess a sort of inner critic or
judge who immediately comments on everything they say or do. Insane people hear this voice directly as auditory hallucinations. But
normal people too, if their inner life is fairly
well developed, are able to reproduce this inaudible voice without difficulty, though
as it is notoriously irritating and refractory, it is almost always repressed. Such persons have little
difficulty in procuring the unconscious material and thus laying the
foundation of the transcendent function.
There are others, again, who neither see nor hear anything inside themselves, but whose hands have the knack of giving expression to the contents of the unconscious. Such people can profitably work with plastic materials. Those who are able to express the unconscious by means of bodily movements are rather rare. The disadvantage that movements cannot easily be fixed in the mind must be met by making careful drawings of the movements afterwards, so that they shall not be lost to the memory. Still rarer, but equally valuable, is automatic writing, direct or with the planchette. This, too, yields useful results. CW 8, paras 270-271
Likewise, psychotherapists must remain vigilant when working with these individuals. They need to evaluate:
- Whether the individual understands and uses the process correctly
- Whether the individual possesses adequate psychological boundaries
A further checklist can be found here
