The Soul in Anguish

The Soul in Anguish: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Suffering presents a variety of

approaches to psychotherapeutic work with suffering people, from the perspectives of both Jungian and

psychoanalytic psychology. An important theme of the book is that suffering may be harmful or helpful to

the development of the personality. Our culture tends to assume that suffering is invariably negative or

pointless, but this is not necessarily so; suffering may be destructive, but it may lead to positive

developments such as enhanced empathy for others, wisdom, or spiritual development. The book offers

professionals in any helping profession various frameworks within which to view suffering, so that the

individual's suffering does not seem to be random or meaningless. Cognitive-behavioral approaches, the

approach of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric association, and the

promise of evidence-based strategies may or may not be applicable to the unique circumstances of the

suffering individual. These approaches also ignore the unconscious sources of much suffering, its

implications for the ongoing development of the personality, and the nuances of the therapeutic

relationship. We cannot objectify or measure suffering; suffering is best viewed from within the

individual's perspective, because people with the same diagnosis suffer in unique ways.

The Soul in Anguish is a groundbreaking, meticulously researched study from an outstanding

Jungian analyst and scholar. It provides illuminating ways into the transformative potential of suffering

and how it can be dealt with in the consulting room. Charting the soul's agonies with great compassion

and profound sensitivity, Dr. Corbett skillfully delineates clinical, philosophical and spiritual concepts of

suffering that testify to the endurance of the human spirit. This book is an enlightening read for anybody

with a passionate concern for the human soul.

- Ursula Wirtz, PhD, Jungian Analyst, Author of Trauma and Beyond: The Mystery of

Transformation With extraordinary candor The Soul in Anguish brings its readers face to face with one of the most

difficult topics in life, suffering. This remarkable exploration of the range of suffering, especially as

encountered in psychotherapy, mines for meaning and finds both its positive and negative expressions.

Transcending the categorical, pathological descriptions of the DSM, The Soul in Anguish reveals the

archetypal nature of the experience of suffering. Dr. Lionel Corbett offers healing to mind, soul and body,

in this uplifting engagement with what is usually either avoided in most treatments or only touched upon,

i.e., anguish. This book reimagines our pain and anguish to bring about the possibility of a true

psychological and soulful grasp of suffering. No therapist should miss the opportunities of Dr. Corbett's

rich study.

- Joe Cambray, Ph.D., Past-President IAAP, Author DR. LIONEL CORBETT trained in medicine and psychiatry in England and as a Jungian Analyst at the

C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. His primary interests are: the religious function of the psyche, the

development of psychotherapy as a spiritual practice, and the interface of Jungian psychology and

contemporary psychoanalytic thought. Dr. Corbett is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate

Institute. He is the author of numerous papers and three books: The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a

Spiritual Practice, Psyche and the Sacred, and The Religious Function of the Psyche. He is the co-editor

of: Jung and Aging, Depth Psychology, Meditations in the Field, and Psychology at the Threshold.