Central to Jungian therapy is the concept of individuation, referring to the psychological evolution of an individual over time. Jung used the term to describe a lifelong expansion of consciousness, as well as the development of an increasingly differentiated personality. Individuation involves the growth of a unique human being through a deepening of awareness. 

While individuation is a process that occurs naturally over the course of life, it can be enormously facilitated through Jungian therapy. From a Jungian perspective, psychological maladies result from inhibited individuation. To the extent that we are unconscious and undeveloped, we are limited in our ability to respond productively, creatively, and adaptively to life. In fact, it was Jung’s feeling that the greater the split between the conscious and unconscious mind, the greater the likelihood of neurotic, or in some cases, psychotic disorders. For Jung, psychological symptoms frequently signal the fact that our psyche is fragmented, unbalanced, and ill-adapted to reality. Jungian therapy helps us wake up to the unconscious dynamics creating our suffering.