The Availability of the Analyst

In This Paper I shall attempt to combine Jung's theory of the archetypes with observable evidence of archetypal activity both in infancy and in later life. To do so I shall draw on the observations of an infant named Paul, and on clinical material from the analysis of an adult patient, John, using developmental concepts in order to bridge the two cases. The point I should like to illustrate is the way in which different archetypal images, from a variety of archetypes, are constellated in patients according to their experiences, both internal and external, at different developmental stages.

When John referred himself to the clinic he was a social worker in his late twenties and worked with children in care. He looked much younger than his age, was of medium height, very skinny and wiry. His complexion was pale, his hair brown and his eyes dark, melancholic and expressive. His face looked haggard and thin.

The style of his clothes which, I noticed, changed continuously, seemed to preoccupy him a great deal. It appeared to me a strange combination of mismatched bits which, I felt, reflected his inner emotional state. He took a great interest in shoes, which he changed often and which, he told me, had to do with feeling masculine and tough, especially when he wore heavy boots which he seemed to display as weapons.

He agreed with my suggestion to come four times a week, although initially he had hoped to be seen only twice weekly and this because he felt that the only ones in need of looking after were the children in his care. He had difficulty in acknowledging that he might have some needs too, for the children in the ‘home’ were his only concern and he could not take any time away from them and looked after them with total dedication day and night.

The account of his life pictured an unhappy childhood both at home and at school, and was interspersed with long descriptions of illnesses and solitary play.

He had had a difficult start in life and was the first of three childr