Those who arrive at the therapeutic process do so because they are suffering. So, it seems obvious that one of the purposes of psychotherapy is to produce a shift from the subjective position in which the patient finds themself and which contributes to their suffering. Jung said that “until the unconscious becomes conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”.

It is not uncommon for the patient to feel as if their destiny is set in stone, “there is no other way” or for the patient to find themself repeating a pattern despite what they consciously intend. Or even, that the patient attempts to forge a path forward just to find themself stuck in the same place. Psychotherapy seeks to create a space and conditions for the patient to be able to listen to themself and to that which speaks through them in their actions, in their choices, in their dreams… Through reflective questioning and interventions, psychotherapy is a process of unlearning learned dynamics, patterns, and mechanisms, and learning about oneself; of understanding the identifications that form us, so as to nurture one’s own identity and desires. In this process, rather than fateful destiny, the objective is to develop autonomy so as to trace a new path to a chosen destination.