The Joy of Jungian Coaching

When we are connected to ourselves, we experience a kind of deep joy that is quiet, yet alive. It’s a joy that shows up when something touches us deeply. This can be a moment in nature, a piece of music, a conversation that feels real. Even in struggle, deep joy can appear when we sense that what we are going through really matters.

That kind of joy makes us feel connected.

Psychotherapist Thomas Moore once said, The soul is guided by Eros. In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love and desire, not just romantic love, but also the force that pulls us toward connection, beauty, and life. When he says the soul is guided by Eros, it means our inner life is drawn toward what feels alive. What’s real. What gives us a deep kind of joy.

This is also what Jungian psychology is about. It aims to reconnect us with something deeper inside, a sense of essence. To feel more real. To feel more alive.

Coaching from a Jungian perspective is not just about gaining insight or fixing problems. Its aim is to help us be in relationship with our authenticity. To feel a sense of meaning, even when facing challenges. That is coaching at its best: helping someone connect to a deeper kind of authenticity that feels joyful. I am here. I matter. I am alive.

But to guide someone else toward that, we as coaches need to be in touch with it ourselves. We all know that life sometimes pulls us away from our essence. From early on, we learn to adapt. We edit parts of ourselves to fit in with family, friends, and society. We learn to avoid conflict, to control situations, to please others. We do what it takes to belong and feel safe. And in the process, some of our authenticity gets lost.

When we become familiar with how we can lose touch with what makes us feel alive, we also learn how (and when) we have unintentionally distanced ourselves from that feeling. We start to see how others might be doing the same. When we learn to notice the hints and clues our psyche offers us, we can begin to reconnect with our essence.

Jung spoke of the individuation process, the lifelong unfolding of who we truly are. Coaching, from a Jungian view, is partnering with our clients in becoming more real (as opposed to becoming a ‘better version’ of themselves).

In the process of becoming more real, we are guided from within through dreams, symptoms, and longings. These messages are symbolic, like poems or myths. They ask to be listened to with the heart, not just the head.

Now, for example, what if a client comes to us feeling anxious or sad?

To begin understanding these symptoms as guiding messages, we must approach them with curiosity and openness. Instead of seeing anxiety or sadness as something to be fixed, we explore them as clues. The goal is not to immediately solve the discomfort, but to ask: What are these experiences trying to tell me? What is the deeper invitation?

A client’s anxiety might point to an inner conflict or an unmet need that’s calling for attention. A sense of loss or heartbreak may invite a client to confront a deeper part of themselves that has been neglected. By approaching challenges with openness to their underlying meaning, clients begin to see challenges not as obstacles, but as pathways that lead them closer to their authentic selves.

This kind of coaching asks the coach to be real too. It asks that Jungian coaches listen from the heart and stay with the questions. Coaches are invited to resist the urge to rush toward answers or quick fixes. They are asked to tune in and hear something of someone’s essence speak. Not in loud declarations, but in quiet signals.

This type of coaching is deeply joyful for the coach as well, because it invites us into a meaningful dialogue. We witness a person coming home to themselves, and that is moving. As coaches, we are not outside the process; we are touched by the same symbols, emotions, and moments of insight. There’s a shared aliveness that makes each session feel rich and real. In holding space for someone’s essence to emerge, we reconnect with our own.

In celebration of International Coaching week, we offer free access to this wonderful talk by Akke-Jeanne Klerk: The Joy of Jungian Coaching. If you sign up between May 12-18, you can join for free! Click here to sign up for free.

On Jung Platform, we also offer a four-class on-demand course to explore Jungian Coaching.To learn more and sign up click here.