Becoming-Psychotherapist: A Micropolitical Struggle with Jungian Theory in Lima, Peru

Abstract

The ongoing democratic crisis and social unrest in Peru, as in other parts of South America, highlight the fragility of democracy in the region and reveal a shared cultural complex. These events expose the deep wound of colonization and, drawing on Hillman’s ideas, raise the question of its psychological necessity. Becoming-psychotherapist is a process of engaging in the craft of caring for the soul of the world. But what does it mean to care for the Peruvian soul in these turbulent times? How does one respond to this calling from within a Jungian theoretical framework? In this essay, I reflect on the need to confront the colonial bias inherent in classical analytical psychology. I also explore the necessity of cultivating a Jungian psychology that incorporates decolonial, polytheistic, and post-human perspectives. This approach seeks to create space for a certain sensing of the Peruvian and South American soul in contemporary psychological discourse, while also contributing to the decentering of the ego perspective from which psychological theory is traditionally constructed. These reflections are accompanied by the testimonies of two lesbians and their work in soul care outside conventional therapeutic settings.