Jung's theory of dream and the relational debate

The author refers to a roundtable discussion (Psychoanalytic Dialogues 10/1, 2000) of dreams to which a Jungian colleague was invited to contribute, along with non-Jungian analysts. The author outlines how in some aspects of Jung's theory the fulfillment of individuality is achieved throughout the relationship; in other aspects, fulfilment seems to be achieved because it is prewired in the individual himself. The author points out that, although Jung himself subscribed to various theoretical concepts, some one-person and others two-person, Jung's clinical stance was almost always relational. If we accept the paradigmatic switch that relational authors refer to, some nonrelational aspects of Jung's theory of dreams are superseded.