A Practical Guide to Jungian Therapy

Sagebrush Counseling

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People come to therapy for all kinds of reasons and from all kinds of starting points. Some have a specific problem they want help with. Some feel stuck in a way they cannot quite name. Some have done therapy before and found something useful, but something is still not resolved. Some have never been to therapy and are not sure what to expect.

I work with all of those people. What I want this page to do is give you an honest picture of the approach I use, what it is suited for, what it is not, and how to figure out whether it is the right fit for you specifically.

In This Post

What this approach is
How it compares to other types of therapy
Who it tends to fit
Who it is not for
A note on neurodiversity
What a session looks like

What This Approach Is

The short version: depth-oriented therapy is interested in what is underneath presenting symptoms rather than managing them directly. Much of what drives our patterns and suffering is not fully conscious, and getting underneath it requires something different from analyzing it from above.

For a full overview of the framework, core concepts, and what sessions involve, see What Is Jungian Therapy? This post focuses on the practical question of fit: how it compares to other approaches, who it is and is not suited for, and how to decide.

How It Compares to Other Types of Therapy

Different therapy approaches are built for different things. Here is a plain-language comparison:

	Depth / Jungian	CBT / Skills-based
Focus	What is underneath the pattern	Managing the pattern directly
Structure	Open-ended, follows what is present	Structured, goal-oriented, time-limited
Good for	Identity questions, repeating patterns, meaning, transitions	Specific symptoms: anxiety, OCD, phobias, depression
Evidence base	Strong clinical tradition, less RCT research	Extensively researched via clinical trials
Timeline	Open-ended. Depth takes time.	Often 8–20 sessions with clear endpoint

Neither is better. They are built for different presenting situations. If you have a specific named condition and want a structured, time-limited intervention, CBT and related approaches are likely the stronger fit. If the presenting situation is harder to name, more about patterns or meaning or a sense that something is off beneath the surface, depth work is likely more useful.

Many people have done both at different points. They are not mutually exclusive over a lifetime.

Who It Tends to Fit

In broad strokes: people with persistent patterns that have not changed despite effort, questions about identity or meaning that do not fit a diagnostic category, significant life transitions, and people who have done skills-based work that helped with symptoms but left the underlying thing intact.

A fuller breakdown is in the post What Is Jungian Therapy? The more useful question for this post is who it does not fit — which most therapy guides skip.

Who It Is Not For

I think it is important to say this clearly, because not every approach is right for every person or every situation.

Depth work is likely not the right fit if:

You are in acute crisis and need immediate stabilization. Depth work is not crisis intervention. If you are in a mental health crisis, please reach out to a crisis service or go to your nearest emergency room.
You have a condition that responds specifically to a structured protocol, such as OCD, a specific phobia, or PTSD, and you have not yet tried those protocols. Evidence-based structured treatment should generally come first.
You want a clear roadmap, a defined endpoint, and measurable milestones. Depth work is intentionally open-ended. If that kind of ambiguity is genuinely distressing rather than just unfamiliar, it may not be the right container.
You are looking primarily for psychoeducation, skill-building, or strategies for managing a specific behavior. Those are real and valuable goals, just not what this work primarily offers.

If you are not sure, that is exactly what the free consult is for. I would rather tell you honestly in fifteen minutes that something else would serve you better than have you spend months in the wrong room.

Not sure what you need?

That uncertainty is a fine place to start. Bring it to the consult.

A 15-minute call to talk through what is going on and figure out together whether this is the right fit. Fully virtual, NH, ME, MT, and TX.

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A Note on Neurodiversity

I work with neurodivergent clients, including people with ADHD, autism, high sensitivity, and giftedness, and I want to say something specific about how depth work intersects with neurodivergent experience.

Many neurodivergent people arrive at therapy having spent years developing sophisticated strategies to manage in environments that were not built for how they work. The adaptive layer can be particularly thick, and the exhaustion of maintaining it particularly real. Depth work that engages with what is underneath the management, rather than adding more strategies on top of it, can offer something different from the standard neurodivergent therapy menu.

At the same time, depth work is not a substitute for practical support where practical support is genuinely what is needed. If there are concrete functional challenges, executive function difficulties, or skills deficits that are causing significant problems, those deserve direct attention. I am honest about this in the work and will say so if I think something else is needed alongside or instead.

Neurodivergent clients also often bring particular strengths to depth work: a capacity for pattern recognition, strong associative thinking, vivid inner lives, intense emotional processing, sensitivity to symbolic and metaphorical meaning. These are not liabilities in this kind of therapy. They are often assets.

See the ADHD therapist page and the autism therapist page for more on how I work with those specific presentations.

Logistics

Sessions are 50 minutes via video, weekly. $200 per session, private pay. First available session is typically within one to two weeks. No commute, no parking, no scheduling around office hours.

There is no preset agenda. We start from wherever you are that week. The first few sessions are mostly about understanding your specific situation before the deeper work begins.

For more on what actually happens in a depth therapy session, see What Is Jungian Therapy? For what it looks like specifically in a virtual format, see What Jungian Therapy Looks Like Online. For fees, scheduling, and FAQs: FAQs page. State-specific: New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Texas.

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Quick Answers

How much does it cost?+

$200 per 50-minute session. Private pay only. A superbill can be provided for potential out-of-network reimbursement. See the FAQs for more detail on payment and scheduling.

Do I need to have done therapy before?+

No. People come to this work from all starting points. Some have extensive therapy histories. Some have never spoken to a therapist before. Both are fine. A fresh relationship with the material is sometimes an asset rather than a liability.

What if I am not sure what I need?+

That is a completely valid place to start. The free 15-minute consult exists precisely for this. You do not need to arrive with a clear presenting problem or a theory about what is wrong. You just need to be willing to talk honestly about what is going on.

Can I do this alongside medication or other treatment?+

Yes. Depth therapy works alongside psychiatric medication management and many other forms of support. Working with two talk therapists simultaneously is generally not recommended, as the approaches can work at cross purposes. If you are currently in another form of therapy and curious about depth work, that is worth raising with your current provider.

How long does it take?+

Long enough to be real. For most people, something meaningfully shifts within a few months of consistent weekly work. Deeper change takes longer than that. I am honest about this from the start and check in regularly on whether the work is moving. See the FAQs for more on what to expect.

Sagebrush Counseling

A free 15-minute consult is the right place to begin.

We talk about what you are dealing with. I tell you honestly what I think would help. No pressure, no commitment.

Schedule a Free 15-Min Consult About Sagebrush Counseling

LCMHC · LCPC · LPC · NH · ME · MT · TX · No waitlist

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