Psychization

1. Etymology

Psychization names the process of reflection whereby an instinct or unconscious content is made conscious. Related: instinct; psyche; psychoid; consciousness; libido / psychic-energy.

2. Plain summary

Sharp’s short head is exact: psychization is reflection that lifts an instinct or unconscious content into consciousness. Where blind instinct predominates, processes shade toward the psychoid—elements not yet capable of consciousness. Psychization is the reverse motion: appetite and image become thinkable, choosable, speakable.

It is not mere intellectualization. The move is reflective engagement with the form in which libido appears—fantasy-images, affects, needs—so that will (freedom of choice) can meet what was formerly only drive. Descent Press keeps the lemma tight: process-of-making-conscious, not a rival theory of sublimation.

Examples (exhaustive house list for this Index lemma — common psychization motifs named across Jung’s essays and standard Jungian lexica; not a claim that Jung’s CW contains only these):
reflection makes instinct/unconscious content conscious; vs psychoid (incapable of consciousness when instinct predominates); conflict instinct ↔ will; assimilation of instinctual processes toward spirit pole; fantasy-image as form of energy made reflectable; kinship with active imagination as engagement practice; not Freudian sublimation synonym; bridge instinct ↔ psyche as totality.

3. Academic elucidation

In analytical psychology psychization is the reflective passage from instinctual/psychoid toward conscious assimilation. Sharp alone carries a dedicated head; Samuels has no separate psychization lemma (treat via instinct / psyche / energy). Do not invent loci.

4. Lexicon

Sharp (1991)

Psychization. The process of reflection whereby an instinct or unconscious content is made conscious.

(Sharp, 1991)

Nearby Sharp context (not a second head):

Psyche is essentially conflict between blind instinct and will (freedom of choice). Where instinct predominates, psychoid processes set in…

Samuels, Shorter & Plaut (1986) — no dedicated psychization head

(None.) Related terrain under INSTINCT / PSYCHE / ENERGY; notes no separate psychization page.

5. CW concordance — sample, not exhaustive

Instinct as an ectopsychic factor would play the role of a stimulus merely, while instinct as a psychic phenomenon would be an assimilation of this stimulus to a pre-existent psychic pattern. A name is needed for this process. I should term it psychization. Thus, what we call instinct offhand would be a datum already psychized, but of ectopsychic origin.
(Jung, 1936/1969, CW 8, pp. 157–158, ¶233) Dual psychoid PSYCHOID-1–4 / instinct untouched.

See also: instinct; psyche; psychoid; psychic-energy; libido; consciousness; active imagination.

References

Jung, C. G. (1969). Psychological factors determining human behaviour. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (2nd ed., Vol. 8, pp. 157–158, ¶233). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1936)

Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F. (1986). A critical dictionary of Jungian analysis. Routledge.

Sharp, D. (1991). Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts. Inner City Books.