When we hold the stance of “the one who knows” with our students or clients we create a polarity

In his book, POWER IN THE HELPING PROFESSIONS, Jungian psychiatrist Adolf Guggenbuhl discusses how therapists, teachers, and medical practitioners create polarities with clients and students when they take on the role of “knower.” Jungian analyst John R. Haule calls this polarization a “split archetype.”

A split archetype happens whenever we know “what is best” for our patient (or mother, father, student, friend, lover): “One of us is all-knowing and all-powerful, and the other is ignorant, neurotic and powerless.” In such a situation, no healing or creativity has the space to occur, because we’re mired in a fixed (stuck) position.

When we hold the unwavering stance of “the one who knows” we create a polarity. We give the other person something to defend or argue against.