A conversation about sexuality through the lens of Jungian psychology, the repression of Eros, the limitations of traditional psychological frameworks, gender and sexual diversity, and the importance of sexuality within the process of individuation.
What happens when sexuality, one of the most intimate dimensions of human experience, becomes something we avoid exploring within depth psychology?
In this episode of the Alchemical Toil Podcast, Alexis Durgee sits down with depth psychotherapist and author Dr. Ed Santana to explore the relationship between sexuality, the unconscious, and psychological development through the lens of Jungian and post-Jungian thought.
Drawing on his book Jung and Sex: Re-Visioning the Treatment of Sexual Issues, Ed examines the historical relationship between sexuality and analytical psychology, questioning why a field that emerged partly through the study of sexual complexes has increasingly distanced itself from these conversations.
Their discussion moves through repression, Eros, the tension between instinct and spiritualization, the limitations of traditional gender constructs, and the importance of recognizing sexuality as an integral dimension of psychological life.
Throughout the conversation, a central question emerges: How can we approach sexuality with greater curiosity and complexity, rather than reducing it to diagnosis, morality, or established psychological categories?
In this episode, Alexis and Ed explore:
The origins of Jungian psychology and its relationship with sexuality
Why sexual issues have become marginalized within depth psychology
The relationship between Eros, repression, and unconscious complexes
Sexuality as an intimate and sometimes deeply vulnerable dimension of psychological life
The limitations of psychological training in addressing sexual concerns
The tension between instinctual experience and the spiritualization of sexuality
Understanding sexual symptoms and compulsions without immediately reducing them to pathology
Reconsidering the anima, animus, and traditional gender constructs
LGBTQ+ experiences and the limitations of historically heterosexual frameworks
The influence of cultural expectations, moral judgments, and repression
Sexuality, relationships, archetypal roles, and the process of individuation
The importance of bringing contemporary perspectives into Jungian and depth psychological practice
Listen to the Episode
Listen to Jung, Sexuality, Repression & Individuation with Dr. Ed Santana on the Alchemical Toil Podcast.
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Where Has Sexuality Gone in Depth Psychology?
Sexuality played an important role in the development of both Freudian and Jungian psychology, yet Ed questions why it has become comparatively neglected within contemporary analytical practice. He describes encountering limited training and outdated literature when researching how Jungian therapists address sexual concerns. For a field concerned with what remains unconscious, this absence raises an important question: what happens when the profession itself avoids examining one of the most intimate and psychologically significant dimensions of human experience?
Eros, Repression & the Tension of Opposites
Alexis and Ed explore Jung's recognition of the tension between our instinctual nature and the spiritual dimensions of psychological life. Sexuality can be reduced to bodily impulses, but it can also become so heavily spiritualized or symbolically interpreted that the lived, physical experience is overlooked. Ed emphasizes the importance of holding these dimensions together rather than privileging one at the expense of the other. Repression and imbalance can emerge when either side is denied its place within the psyche.
Sexual Symptoms & the Search for Meaning
Rather than approaching every sexual symptom or compulsive pattern solely as something to eliminate, Ed considers what psychological purpose it may be serving. Drawing on his clinical experience, he describes the importance of understanding what a particular behavior or experience offers the individual, even when it creates distress or disruption. This does not mean overlooking harm, but examining the deeper psychological dynamics involved. The work becomes an exploration of what the psyche may be seeking and how those needs might find a more constructive expression.
Beyond Traditional Gender Constructs
The conversation turns toward the limitations of inherited Jungian ideas about gender, particularly the anima and animus. Ed describes attending a conference where discussions of queer theory and the deconstruction of sexuality offered possibilities that felt more expansive than conventional psychological categories. He also examines the ways Jung's own cultural assumptions influenced his interpretations of homosexuality. Rather than abandoning depth psychology, the challenge is to reconsider its frameworks so they can accommodate greater complexity, diversity, and psychological understanding.
Sexuality & the Process of Individuation
Sexuality cannot be separated from individuation without overlooking an important dimension of the Self. Alexis and Ed discuss how cultural expectations, moral frameworks, and established relationship roles can shape what individuals permit themselves to experience or express. Ed considers the tension between archetypal identities such as parent and lover, and the ways these roles can come into conflict. Individuation involves becoming more conscious of what has been repressed, understanding why it was excluded, and making room for a fuller relationship with one's psychological life.
ABOUT | Dr. Ed Santana
Dr. Ed Santana is a depth psychotherapist and author whose work explores sexuality, Jungian psychology, psychological repression, and the treatment of complex sexual issues.
He earned his master's degree and PhD in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and, at the time of this conversation, maintained a private psychotherapy practice in San Francisco.
His clinical experience also included work at UCSF's adult inpatient unit and the 360 Positive Care Center, where he provided psychotherapy to long-term HIV/AIDS survivors.
He is the author of Jung and Sex: Re-Visioning the Treatment of Sexual Issues, a work examining Jung's writings on sexuality alongside contemporary approaches to sexual concerns within depth psychotherapy.
Listen to the Episode
Listen to Jung, Sexuality, Repression & Individuation with Dr. Ed Santana on the Alchemical Toil Podcast.
LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | WATCH ON YOUTUBE
Explore Further
Dr. Ed Santana
Jung and Sex: Re-Visioning the Treatment of Sexual Issues
Mentioned & Explored in This Episode
C. G. Jung
Sigmund Freud
James Hillman
Lynn Cowan — Dismantling the Animus
Patricia Berry
David L. Miller
Eros and sexuality
Erotic complexes and repression
Anima and animus
The tension of opposites
Queer theory and gender constructs
Sexuality and individuation
Archetypal roles and relationships
Depth psychotherapy and sex therapy
Alchemical Toil explores the inner life through conversations at the intersection of Jungian and depth psychology, psychoanalysis, mythology, embodiment, imagination, and the unconscious.
