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Although great progress has been made in the treatment of cancer, it remains the leading cause of death. In this article, three cases are presented to demonstrate a practical application of a psychotherapeutic approach to cancer patients from the viewpoint of Jungian psychology.
The first case was a woman in her thirties with leukemia, whose Baumtest showed the structure of the Möbius tree. The Möbius tree was initially found in the Baumtest of patients with schizophrenia and was considered an indicator of schizophrenia, but it was later revealed that the Möbius tree was also found in the Baumtests of cancer patients, reflecting a common vulnerability between cancer and schizophrenia patients. This may reflect, in Jungian psychology terms, a situation in which the deep barriers of the mind become fragile, allowing the contents of the collective unconscious to flow easily into the ego.
The second case was a man in his 50s with lung cancer; his disease was advanced, and he complained of intense agitation and insomnia. With the help of the Baumtest and the landscape montage technique, he began to draw spontaneously and came out of his strong agitation and regained himself. Based on the ideas of Jungian psychology, Bach used free drawings to approach children with cancer in a psychotherapeutic way. Although she emphasizes that signs of physical illness can be seen in the drawings, we could pay more attention to the therapeutic power of the drawing itself, just as Jung came out of his crisis with a drawing he later called a mandala.
The third case was a 48-year-old woman with leukemia who had a profound experience during a bone marrow transplant that was comparable to a near-death experience. Her course of treatment was compared to a series of pictures in the Rosarium Philosophorum, and it was suggested that transplantation needs to be regarded as a treatment that goes through to the point of death and rebirth, rather than simply replacing a sick organ with a healthy one. In conclusion, the contemporary usefulness and applicability of Jung’s idea can be sought in the field of cancer treatment.