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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.
