Dissolving the Psychological Subject: Inside and Outside the Therapeutic Bond

This paper focuses on the role of affect within the process of individuation. This approach provides us with the opportunity to shed light upon the (mostly implicit) capacity Jung’s psychology possesses to move beyond the limitations of individuality and to highlight the psyche’s collective dimension. The paper explores some of the ways in which we can become aware of such processes within the vessel of clinical work. A recap of Jung’s comments on affect and emotion is followed by a discussion of the contribution of the French philosopher Gilbert Simondon and particularly the role of affect in what he calls “transindividuation” (Simondon, 2020; Combes, 2013). Clinical examples will be provided to illustrate the way in which powerful affects can be observed to occur not only within the separate psyches of either patient or analyst, but also within a third field or “bond” (Jung, 1946, para. 367) which I believe we can usefully understand as “transindividual”.