A Translation of ‘The Jungian Concept of Neurosis’ (Original German Title: Der Jungsche Begriff der Neurose) Supervised by Prof. Toshio Kawai Has Been Published, and Includes his Preface Entitled, “A Clinician, Giegerich”

A translation of ‘The Jungian Concept of Neurosis’ (Original German Title: Der Jungsche Begriff der Neurose) (Wolfgang Giegerich, Peter Lang, 1999), which was supervised by Prof. Toshio Kawai, has been published by Sogensha as of June 2021.

The author, Dr. Giegerich, has provided essential insights into Jung’s understanding of neurosis through articles, such as “The Neurosis of Psychology” in 1977, and seminar lectures at the Jung Institute. This book originated in a weekend seminar he gave in Germany in 1995 to Japanese graduate students of clinical psychology. From that seminar, Dr. Giegerich took up Jung’s understanding of neurosis again as a theme, and in addition to this book, he also published a book entitled, ‘The Soul’s Logical Life’ in 1998.

For the published book in Japan, Prof. Kawai supervised the translation and wrote the supervisor’s preface entitled, “A Clinician, Giegerich.” In the preface, Prof. Kawai states that this book is significant not only as an introduction to Dr. Giegerich’s thought, but also as a way to learn about the clinical aspects of his work. Dr. Giegerich has argued that psychology should be based on concrete examples. In this book, Jung’s own experience of neurosis at the age of 11, originally reported in Jung’s Autobiography I, is cited to move his discussion forward. Prof. Kawai thinks this style will make it easier for readers to understand Dr. Giegerich’s discussion.

Moreover, in the preface, Prof. Kawai elaborates on the theory of neurosis described in the  book, which is based on Jung’s experiences. Unlike “psychic” problems which are actually caused by events, such as nurturing environments or crimes, neurosis does not arise causally from some event, but rather is a “narrative” created by oneself, using the event as a trigger. That is to say, Prof. Kawai focuses specifically on Dr. Giegerich’s view that neurosis is a “psychological” problem caused by the “free creation of the mind and soul.”

Mainstream approaches today tend to think that there is a cause to one’s mental illness or problem, and that clinicians must try to remove it and care for the damaged person. Dr. Giegerich, however, considers that symptoms can be resolved only during psychotherapy, when clients themselves see that the neurosis is just a “narrative” they have created. Prof. Kawai appreciates that this perspective of him is clinically groundbreaking and meaningful in the present day.

You can read Prof. Kawai’s preface on the publisher’s book site. (Japanese only)
https://www.sogensha.co.jp/tachiyomi/4264

・Book Information
Der Jungsche Begriff der Neurose （Title in Japanese『ユングの神経症概念』）
Author: Wolfgang Giegerich
Translation supervised by Toshio Kawai
Translators: Toshio Kawai, Tsuyoshi Inomata, Yuichi Kitaguchi, Yuka Ogiso
Publisher: Sogensha (June 20, 2021)
Pages: 224
ISBN-13: 978-4-422-11763-8
Publisher’s book site: https://www.sogensha.co.jp/productlist/detail?id=4264

2021/07/07