Gražina Gudaitė

Analytical Psychology in Lithuania

The Beginning

The history of Analytical Psychology in Lithuania is short and it starts with the regaining of Independence. In Soviet times this type of psychotherapy was not applied in practice due to ideological reasons.
The beginning of Analytical Psychology is related to the first visits of Jungian analysts to Lithuania. The first seminar of Analytical Psychology was followed by the first introductory program. It was held and organized by Tomas Kapacinskas and Judith Roberts from Chicago and were important events in the life of Lithuanian psychologists and psychotherapists. The Analysts, mentioned above, represented an archetypal branch of Analytical Psychology and were focused not only on the explanation and practical application of the main C. G. Jung‘s postulates but on the analysis of cultural sources as well. Revealing the deepest meanings of dreams and archaic Lithuanian fairytales was an inspiring experience because it touched the question of cultural identity which was so important at that time. Catherine Asper and Elizabeth Hartung from Zurich, Boris Mathews from Chicago and other prominent Analysts gave seminars in the introductory course. Thanks to Tomas Kapacinskas literature of Analytical Psychology reached Lithuania and first contacts with IAAP were established. Representative of Lithuania was invited to participate in the Twelfth International Congress for Analytical Psychology, Chicago, 1992. Representatives of Eastern European countries (Russia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania) for the first time took part in the International Congress of Analytical Psychology. Furthermore the first possibilities of traineeships at the C. G. Jung institutes of Chicago and Zurich appeared.
In 1993 the first Lithuanian Society of Analytical Psychology was established. It was the core around which the main activities of Analytical Psychology were concentrating. Much work was done by the presidents of the Association: Lilija Vasiliauskienė, Gina Knabikienė, Gražina Gudaitė, and other active members of the Association: Arunas Germanavičius and Gabrielė Germanavičienė, Algis Petronis and Justa Petronienė, Daina Natkevičienė, Eugenijus Laurinaitis, Eglė Plioplienė, Dalia Juozapaitienė, Ruta Lukošaitytė and others.

Training of Qualified Analysts: Problems and Solutions

Establishment and cultivation of the relations with the IAAP was a long-sighted and important factor for the subsequent development of Analytical Psychology. Ideas of Archetypal Psychology and exploration of the main postulates of C. G. Jung was inspiring but not sufficient for their application in psychotherapy practice. Training of qualified Jungian analysts came to be the main task, which was not easy to implement for there were no professionals of this field in the whole so-called Eastern Europe. As personal analysis and individual supervisions are the ground for comprehension of longtime psychotherapy and transformation, they play the special role in qualified analysts training. It is a big problem in the countries, which don’t have their own Institutes or even analysts. We had experienced different training models. Joining a relevant study program in an already existing accredited Analytical Psychology Institute seemed to be the simplest way to become analyst. But this model was hard to implement due to the socioeconomic differences – costs of study programs were impossible to pay for Lithuanians, as well as for people from other Eastern Europe countries. Some other conditions were also problematic. It was very complicated to stay out of a country of permanent residence for at least five years and afterwards to come back and accustom to changes, which were arising very fast at that time in Eastern Europe. The more so was the detachment from the cultural context and psychotherapy practice, which are so important in Jungian analysts training.
Another training model was the importation of an Institute program to some country. This was also applied in Lithuania. In 1997 “The program of advanced Analytical Psychology studies” was organized. The program was coordinated by Robert Strubel, a Jungian Analyst of the Institute of Zurich. Members of this program continued their Analytical Psychology studies, took exams. Alongside with the seminars of the program there were possibilities for traineeships in Zurich - that is, Lithuanians were able to take parts in special Institute programs, which were organized for students from Eastern Europe. Regretfully, in this program there were no possibilities for personal analysis and individual supervisions, which play an important role in qualified analysts training. This model seemed attractive conceptually but its implementation was problematic.
In the third analysts training model theoretical studies and individual training were organized in accordance with the steps to pursue individual membership in the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP). This model integrates theoretical studies and an individual work in a country of residence, as well as individual traineeships at Institutes. This way of studies seeks to let students stay in relations with his/her country, culture and clients. This model appeared to be the most effective for the individuals from Eastern Europe and Lithuania as well. In 2001 representatives from Lithuania and Czech Republic became the first Jungian Analysts from Eastern Europe who were accepted into the IAAP.
Approach of this model is a long and complex process that requires liability, patience and creativity of a candidate, as well as training analysts, while tuning different potentials and integrating diverse experiences. The author of this article started her professional Analytical Psychology studies at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago where, with the help of already mentioned Tomas Kapacinskas and his wife Judith Roberts, a possibility to study in Analysts training program appeared. That was a big challenge (due to cultural, training system and language differences) and a time of big discoveries. Boris Mathews, Diane Martin, Murray Stein, Gus Cwik, Juliet Jewet, John Gianni, Tom Kapacinskas and Judith Roberts and other Jungian analysts and students of the Chicago Institute helped a lot for the challenges to become the discoveries, and the things that seemed an impossible fantasy at Soviet times to become a reality. Accomplishment of the studies at the Institute would have been a logical sequence of becoming a Jungian analyst and that would have realized the first model mentioned above. Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic or even political misunderstandings this plan was not realized fully, because after a year of studies, visa was not extended and the right to live legally and study in the USA for the training period was not given. It obviously happened the way it had to happen. Though not planned but through a good will of some people a possibility to continue studies in Switzerland appeared. Further studies in Zurich were one more inspiring and very affluent step in the communication with Jungian analysts. Many thanks go to Jungian Analysts of Zurich: Prof. Verena Kast, Dr. Mario Jacoby, Alicia Merz, Catherine Asper, Ursula Wirtz. Despite contradictions with regard to different training models, these analysts helped to create good conditions for studies in Switzerland, shared their own knowledge and experience and also were sincerely interested in and supported the initiatives of developing Analytical Psychology in Lithuania.
The model of pursuing individual membership in the IAAP continues to be applied quite successfully in Lithuania during last years too. Theoretical studies are organized in accordance with an appropriate program in Vilnius. There are four stages of theoretical program: “Introduction to Analytical Psychology”, “Clinical aspects of Analytical psychotherapy”, “Symbolic aspects of an analysis” and “Individuation and transformation”. The last three steps are implemented trough a combination of group work (lectures, seminars, group supervisions) and an individual work: personal analysis, individual psychotherapy practice and individual supervisions. The Program is coordinated by Jungian Analyst Gražina Gudaitė. The Program is organized by the Center for Practical Psychology Studies together with IAAP and Vilnius University. Besides training in Lithuania, members of the program had chances for traineeships at the Institutes of Zurich, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv and Chicago. They also had individual supervisions on regular basis in Frankfurt, Zurich, Stuttgart, Berlin and St. Petersburg, as well as seminars outside Vilnius, which were initiated by students themselves. The seminars included mythology studies in Egypt, Greece, and summer camps in Freiburg and the Curonian Spit. Our candidates had opportunity to experience different aspects of the phenomenology of journey: they needed to travel a lot, they needed to speak on different languages, they had possibility to discover life outside Lithuania and perhaps the most important thing they had meetings with really good teachers of Analytical psychology. Many thanks to Gert and Rodtraud Sauer, Ingried Riedel, Ursula Bernauer, Rosemarie Ahlert, Viktor Zielen, M. Brunotte, Anelisa Guerin, Gidon Horowitz from Germany, to Catherine Asper, Elizabeth Hartung, Alice Merz,  Murray Stein, John Hill, Verena Kast, Mario Jacoby, Ursula Wirtz from Switzerland, to JoAnn Culbert Koehn, to Barbara Stephens (in memoriam) from USA, to Ester – Eva Morris, to Henry Abramovitch from Isarel, to Tatjana Rudakova from Russia.           
Relationships with the IAAP and help provided by analysts are essentially significant for pursuing individual membership in the IAAP. The IAAP organizes a screening interview for applicants, and after that, examinations (intermediate and final) that are necessary to pass to become a member of the IAAP. Such interviews and examinations for Lithuania applicants are administered in Vilnius. Murray Stein, Joe Cambray, Tom Kelly contributed a lot to the realization of the model of individual membership in Lithuania.
The relationships with the International community are important in an organizational sense, as well as for their content. It is important to find people who would agree to work with candidates on regular basis. It is also important to find resources that are necessary for candidates to reach their teachers. Gert and Rodtraud Sauer from Freiburg, our big friends are great helpers in this field. They helped to find analysts for an individual work, got resources to support international studies. Gert gave nearly ten training seminars and conducted many hours of individual supervisions in Lithuania.  He is giving seminars, which are opening even deeper the understanding of Lithuanian culture. Sculptures of Vilius Orvydas, poems of Tomas Venclova, paintings of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis – such pieces of our art were the subjects of seminars and discussions.
Thanks to the IAAP and Analysts mentioned above, representatives from Lithuania were able to take parts in International Congresses of Analytical Psychology that were held in Chicago, Zurich, Florence, Cambridge, Barcelona and Cape Town. In the last Congress even six Lithuanian psychologists (Ieva Bieliauskienė, Elona Ilgiuvienė, Algis Petronis, Andzela Rybakovienė, Goda Rukšaitė and Agnė Vasiliauskienė) were accepted into the IAAP as individual members.
In the Analytical Psychology training program much attention is given to a clinical training of professionals, especially focusing on an application of Developmental psychology. Seminars and books of Mario Jacoby and Catherine Asper stimulated a big interest into this sphere. The Ego development, its relations to the unconsciousness, the development of the Ego/Self axis, and possible disturbances are important subjects, which are so important for clinical practice. Analysis of the evolution of the paradigm’s application in Lithuania shows that while at the beginning the archetypal psychology prevailed, later on Analytical Psychology became more and more clinical. In the theoretical part of the program the classical C. G. Jung’s Analytical Psychology is combined with ideas of D. Winnicott, D. Stern, and M. Mahler. In psychotherapy practice a lot of attention is paid to psychological diagnostics and an analysis of transference/countertransference reactions with regard to their relations to developmental processes.
An assumption about the Ego/Self axis plays an important role in analysis of developmental processes as well as psychological processes of trauma. Catherine Asper, Ursula Wirtz, and Verena Kast have published their widely known works on the deep patterns of this complex process. The authors, noted above, conduct seminars in the Lithuanian program, which, beside other questions, emphasizes long-term consequences of trauma.
Though much attention is paid to clinical questions, the main principles of classical Analytical Psychology are also integrated into the Program. The seminars organized in Lithuania include such topics as symbolic aspects of being, dreams and their analysis, religious experience and meaning, and other themes on personality conception and psychotherapy process.
Therefore, the training model of individual members (analysts) (combining training in Lithuania with international seminars and traineeships in other countries) is a creative and interesting process. We believe that this process is an intermediate stage, which is an important step in the long process. We hope to be recognized as an Association in the next IAAP Congress. In the future we hope to establish our Lithuanian C.G.Jung institute.   

Other Activities

Lithuanian analysts not only study Analytical Psychology but also do a practical work and participate in conferences and congresses as well. Besides the already mentioned world Congresses organized by the IAAP, representatives from Lithuania (Ieva Bieliauskienė, Gražina Gudaitė, Elona Ilgiuvienė, Algis Petronis, Goda Rukšaitė) made reports in the European Congress of Psychotherapy in Vilnius, several analysts are going to make reports in the Academic Conference in Zurich, etc.
Analytical Psychology has its own place in the academic life of Lithuania, too. Analytical psychology is included in Vilnius University training program for clinical psychology. Lectures on Analytical Psychology are given in postgraduate psychotherapy training programs. C. G. Jung’s Analytical Psychology is one of the recognized paradigms, which doctoral studies and scientific researches rest upon. For the time being the integration of a recent historical past and researches on consequences of the authoritarian regime are relevant. Consequences of traumas and analytical process, experience of abuse and aggression transformation, father complex and development of an inner authority figure, differences between men and women in overcoming crises are the subjects of scientific researches conducted by the members of Lithuanian Association for Analytical Psychology: Ieva Bieliauskienė, Gintaras Butkus, Neringa Grigutytė, Gražina Gudaitė, Goda Rukšaitė. Several books on Analytical Psychology, written by the author of this article, have been published. Relevant articles are published in scientific journals and collective monographs.
The analysis of a relatively short history of Analytical Psychology in Lithuania shows that it finds its place in psychotherapy world as much as in cultural life. The attraction of this paradigm could be related with a deep understanding of symbolism, openness to modern research, to important postulates of psychodynamic psychology and the principles of humanistic psychology. Probably Analytical Psychology of C.G. Jung responds to an unconscious and intuitive need of individual to keep the cultural identity in the situation of globalization.