Research colloquium at the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich - Connection to new scientific development and relation to the empirical roots of analytical psychology

The C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich has recently established an ongoing research colloquium. There is currently both an outer as well as an internal need to reflect upon the empirical roots of analytical psychology. Considering that Jung's successors neglected practically to pursue empirical research, it is now of importance to assign it a higher priority status. Research projects capable of appropriately treating the subject matter of psychotherapy necessitate? however, an interdisciplinary approach. In addition to quantitative techniques, qualitative methods must be employed, which allow a comprehension of the meaning of events occurring in therapeutic processes. Only a combination of research methods is conducive to research activity which yields both development of the therapy method as well as basic knowledge. The Jungian community has responded to the necessity for this type of research and has initiated appropriate projects. It is the basic purpose of the colloquium to establish a culture which will also be influential in the development of research paradigms. The present article places the Jungian psychotherapy research movement in a historical context and reflects upon the points common to both analytical psychology and modern academic sciences.