Marcus West

Marcus West is a Jungian Psychoanalyst living and working in Sussex, England. He is a Jungian Independent, having previously been a Training and Supervising Analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Analytical Psychology. He is author of three books. 'Feeling, Being and the Sense of Self', which was based on a paper that was joint winner of the Michael Fordham Prize in 2004.

His 2011 book, 'Understanding Dreams in Clinical Practice', presents a simple and effective way of understanding and working with dreams, which allows their full usefulness and vital importance to be explored. The book also reviews the history, theory and science of dreams and dreaming, exploring the contributions from, and debates between, Freud, Jung and other psychoanalysts, as well as the developments and discoveries from neuroscience and dream laboratories, bringing the subject right up to date.

His 2016 book, 'Into the Darkest Places - Early Relational Trauma and Borderline States of Mind', builds on the developments of contemporary trauma theory and extends it to early relational trauma. The book explores the way that early relational experience structures our personality and experience, and offers a way of understanding many of our most disturbing struggles and difficulties, that have often been understood in terms of 'borderline states of mind'. The book is rich in clinical examples and looks at the challenges and development that may be required of the therapist who is prepared to accompany their clients into these 'darkest places'.