Jacob Boehme and the Spiritual Roots of Psychotherapy - (Studies in Theology and Religion) by Glenn J McCullough (Hardcover)

About the Book

Scholars have traced the origins of psychotherapy to the 19th century Romantic milieu, but McCullough argues that these origins lie much further back, in the 17th century mystical theology of Jacob Boehme, who anticipates the psychodynamic theories of both Freud and Jung on all major points.

Book Synopsis

Jacob Boehme (1574-1624) was a wildly creative mystical writer whose extraordinary revelations have often been consigned to obscurity. In this original book, professor and therapist Glenn McCullough shows that Boehme is the source of one of modernity's most influential movements: psychotherapy.
Bringing clarity to Boehme's revelations, and providing insights for scholars, therapists, and spiritual seekers, McCullough shows that Boehme furnishes the wider spiritual context for the pioneering therapeutic concepts of both Sigmund Freud and C.G. Jung, including their respective understandings of the unconscious mind and its remarkable potentials. For Boehme, the unconscious is defined by the figure of Sophia--divine Wisdom--and Sophia's seven drives illuminate the nocturnal world of dreams, guiding the soul on a journey of expanded awareness and spiritual rebirth.
While Boehme has often been dismissed as an esoteric outsider, this book locates him within the mainstream Western theological tradition of Augustine, while highlighting Boehme's unique approach to the ecstatic dream world of Wisdom, and his importance for therapists today.

Review Quotes

"In this fascinating study, Prof. McCullough adds another significant name to the list of modern psychotherapy's forerunners and ancestors, the German mystic Jakob Boehme. In doing this, he draws renewed attention to the religious ancestry of what became psychoanalysis and depth psychotherapy with Freud and Jung. This book is a dedicated attempt to recover this lineage and birthright. The author's exciting argument is a strong contribution to the gathering momentum to integrate spirituality into the clinical work of post-modern psychotherapists." - Murray Stein, author of Jung's Map of the Soul

About the Author

Glenn J. McCullough, PhD, RP, is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Spiritual Care at Emmanuel College and Knox College in the University of Toronto. He is an ordained minister and a psychotherapist in private practice.