Symbolism and Individual Psychology

Abstract

This study explores the role of symbolism in individual psychology, with particular reference to the Adlerian approach, highlighting the clinical and theoretical implications of an excessively standardized use of symbols. Contrary to dogmatic views that resort to glossaries of fixed meanings, Adlerian analysis emphasizes the importance of subjective experience and the uniqueness of the patient's experience. A symbol, however deeply rooted in collective culture, acquires therapeutic value only when placed in the context of personal history. Through the analysis of a clinical case reported by Walter Bonine, it is demonstrated how automatic and sexually centered interpretations can divert the patient from the authentic meaning of their dream images, hindering the path to awareness and healing. Rather than being read according to pre-established patterns, symbols must be explored dynamically in relation to the individual's lifestyle, inner conflicts, and unconscious goals. Dreams, fantasies, and projective tests are privileged ways of accessing symbolic content, but they require a flexible analytical method capable of capturing even the nuances of mimic, verbal, and gestural communication. Seemingly universal symbols—such as boats, sticks, or fire—take on multiple meanings depending on the cultural, geographical, and personal context. Symbolism in psychosomatic symptomatology is also discussed, emphasizing the complexity of the “language of the organs,” often determined by a combination of biological, family, and psychological factors. Symbolism is not only a means of expressing censored content, but also a channel for pursuing unconscious goals, sometimes in opposition to conscious desires. Finally, it is reiterated that sexuality, although an integral part of symbolic exploration, should not be imposed as a universal interpretative key, but treated with openness, historical contextualization, and attention to cultural transformations