Lisa Marchiano Psychotherapist, Certified Jungian Analyst | Philadelphia, PA

Psychotherapy

Becoming whole: To me, practicing with a Jungian orientation means seeing symptoms and suffering as the result of a person’s striving towards wholeness. The assumption that I make when people first walk through my door is that they are somehow blocked in growing into whom they were meant to be, rather than that they are “ill.” Just as a fever is our body’s way of trying to rid itself of an infection, psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or addiction are our psyche’s best effort to manage some deeper problem. While it is sometimes adequate to treat just the fever, deeper healing occurs when the underlying problem can be discovered and addressed. Although we usually come to therapy hoping to find some relief from our pain, our suffering also has the potential to draw us into an exploration of the mystery and meaning of our lives.

Writing newer and better stories: We all face difficulties in life, and we all need to make sense of these, so we come up with stories to help us do so. For example, if we notice that a friend hasn’t called in awhile, we may begin to wonder if we did something to offend him.

Creating these stories is natural, human, and necessary. Sometimes, however, the stories we tell ourselves about our challenges create new problems of their own if the assumptions we make are incorrect. Our assumption that we offended our friend might lead us to feel anxious, guilty, angry, or insecure. Therapy essentially helps clients write new, more constructive stories. A Jungian orientation invites us to tell stories about the challenges that we face that are full of depth, beauty, and meaning, rather than stories that focus on our short-comings.

As I listen to you tell me about yourself and your life, I will begin to get to know you and the stories that you tell yourself about things that are happening in your life. Since you are the best authority on your own life, I will always trust your word. But I may also see things slightly differently than you do, sensing new possibilities in the situation that you haven’t seen. Helping you find a slightly new story can often dramatically shift situations that had been quite stuck, and lead to remarkable and positive transformation and growth.