Individuation is the development of one’s own abilities and the search for one’s own values. Thus, the term is often synonymous with that of self-actualization. The individuation vs. dependency conflict is considered a major source of mental illness.
What is individuation?
Individuation is the development of one’s own abilities and the search for one’s own values. Thus, the term is often synonymous with that of self-actualization. Psychology uses the term individuation to describe the path to a self as its own whole. Individuation is thus understood as a process of becoming whole, which allows people to find their own uniqueness and individuality. Through this process, the person becomes the individual that he or she actually is and independent of others. In addition to the development of one’s abilities and possibilities, this process includes becoming aware of one’s own individuality. After individuation, a person experiences himself as something unique and realizes himself as something of his own. Individuation as a psychological concept goes back to C. G. Jung, who saw the process for as a lifelong process of approaching one’s own self. With his understanding of individuation, Jung distanced himself from Sigmund Freud’s views on the same subject and moved more on the side of Alfred Adler. In his remarks on individuation, Jung emphasized above all the redemption that constitutes the concept. With the individuation process, he said, man can finally act as he feels. Thus, for Jung, individuation is ultimately a liberation from external constraints. U.S. psychiatrist and psychotherapist Erickson first connected individuation with hypnotherapy and in this way used the unconscious as a resource for self-realization.
Function and task
Man grows up in social communities and is given norms, values and constraints by these communities. In this way, he adheres partly without questioning to the values of other people, which do not necessarily correspond to his own values. This phenomenon is in conflict with his individuality. The individuation corresponds to a coping and processing of this conflict. In order to overcome the conflict, the individual questions the norms and values of others, such as parents and friends, and, if necessary, overrides them. Finding one’s own norms or values is one of the most important factors in this process. The individual must learn to disappoint expectations or break certain prohibitions that do not suit him. Adapting to others is necessary for socialization to a certain extent. However, if this basic measure is exceeded, it can show unhealthy effects on the development of the individual. With individuation, the individual is released from the unhealthy effects and organizes his personality in a more liberated way. The goal is an improvement of the inner structure. For Freud, individuation corresponds to a life path that repeatedly calls for active and conscious conflict management in the sense described. Problems emerge again and again and decisions must be taken by the human being in such a way that he can always answer for them anew before himself. Individuation frees the person in his decisions from what he should do according to others or what would be right for others and lets him listen into himself where he finds the right decision for himself. Milton H. Erickson also pursued individuation with his specially developed hypnotherapy. Meanwhile, there are questionnaires that measure the level of development of individuation, such as the PAFS-Q, which is based on personal authority in the family system. Self-development in this questionnaire refers to individuation in the intra-family events of several generations. The psychoanalyst Margaret Mahler has also dealt with individuation and describes above all child development as a process of detachment and individuation. For her, the process of individuation is a sequence of developmental steps and has individual characteristics as its goal.
Diseases and disorders
The psychodynamic approach recognizes so-called basic conflicts and their processing as a compelling part of every human development. In part, mental disorders, regardless of their nature, are assigned to one of the eight basic conflict types in order to work out a treatment.It is assumed, so to speak, that psychological problems are always due to the inadequate management of one of the eight conflict types. The first of these conflict types is the dependency vs. individuation conflict, which in the extreme case makes a person seek a relationship with high dependency and in the opposite extreme case always maintain emotional independence, so that he can never fulfill his suppressed attachment desires. That in fact all mental illnesses are due to one of the eight basic conflicts is highly controversial. At the very least, however, man is a communal animal who nevertheless wants to fulfill himself and experience himself in his individuality. These basic human needs, which seem incompatible, certainly harbor potential for psychological conflicts and can thus certainly promote psychoses or depressions or at least contribute to their development. For example, those who do not experience self-actualization at all and experience it exclusively in dependence on a community may be prone to depression. The same applies to those who accept absolute insolation for their individuation. In order to find a middle ground between self-reliance and dependence, life requires repeatedly coming to terms with the basic conflict of individuation vs. dependence, dealing with the current problems arising from this basic conflict.
