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To all who practise Jungian analysis, or therapy, the concept of individuation is a fore- or background concern. Plaut contributes in his paper some significant aspects of this basic principle which so far have not been expressly acknowledged theoretically, though they may be used—more or less consciously—by some therapists. He reminds us, of course, of Jung's discovery (called by him ‘individuation’) of an intrapsychic process which takes place in people in the second half of life and expresses itself, frequently during an analysis, in symbolic imagery. Plaut disputes that individuation operates only intrapsychically and only during the second half of life. He supplements Jung's concept by taking into account interpersonal factors which ensure a balance between the individual and his environment and between him and his fellows. Mainly speaking as a therapist he makes another crucial point: that it is important to evaluate correctly and tolerate the patient's symptoms, his hesitations and inhibitions, his aberrations and seeming failures in the arduous work of ‘becoming what one is’. He observes that the understanding of symptoms in their relation to the individuation process is often more beneficial than their removal.
Plaut further discusses the often-heard reproach that individuation is an élitist concern which is feasible for a few remarkable people only. He refutes this argument on two points. Firstly, in common with other authors, as for instance Michael Fordham and M. S. Mahler, he considers the process of individuation as starting from birth. Secondly, he comments that some so-called simple people like peasants, gardeners and others who are still rooted in contact with the elementary data of life and seasonal events, are often rounded, ‘together’ (ausbalanzierte) people.
Returning to its main point, the paper concludes with a case exemplifying what is meant by an ‘interpersonal way towards individuation’. It deals with a fictitious person, ‘Celia’, made up ima