The transference field in Jungian analysis

This chapter contemplates the transference field, and more especially the archetypal transference, in Jungian analysis, according to which we may contemplate a relationship, an energic field and a purpose. Jung believed the transference was central in clinical work. His conceptualisations embraced the nature of relationship within the analytic encounter, working with somatic states, working with symbolism, negotiating the numinous, and experiences of synchronicity. He demonstrated that the transference has a dynamism in which psychoid processes play a part. Since then, the post-Jungians have extended his ideas, exploring their role in contemporary clinical practice, and the dynamics of Jung’s psychoid unconscious are acknowledged as playing a part in these processes. This chapter will trace the evolution of Jung’s ideas and review their further development in the hands of the post-Jungians, paying particular attention to the living quality of the transference as a field.