In this News Bulletin we bring a portrait of Andreas Michel, Chair of the Program Committee for the recent IAAP Congress in Zurich. Please enjoy below Susanna Wright’s interview with Andreas Michel.

Susanna: It’s a real pleasure, Andreas, to interview you for the Spotlight in this December issue of the Bulletin. I’ve come to know you a little through our both being on the Executive Committee in the last administration, and saw how your role in Chairing the Program Committee and coordinating the Zurich Congress kept you busy. Now you can relax more, this seems like a great opportunity to get to know you better. First of all, I’m curious about what drew you into analysis and to training as an analyst.

Andreas: Yes, you know, being an analyst is actually my second career, my second professional career. In my 20s I studied history and political science and specialized in political risk analysis, and actually had a career in the finance industry, doing political risk analysis, working on the political risk in countries. And then when I was in my 30s, I decided that that’s not going to be my future, spending the rest of my life in the financial sector. And then I decided to become an analyst, and at the same time also went back to university to get a Master’s in psychology. But knowing about the profession of an analyst actually has been a lifelong experience for me, because I grew up with a father who was an analyst and who was very active at the Jung Institute at that time. I grew up knowing about Jung, knowing about the Institute, knowing about analytical psychology. So, this idea of maybe later in my life becoming an analyst, I think was there for a long time.

S: Then it’s part of your inheritance, not just through living in Zurich, where Jung was, but also through your family.

A: You know, I had very early on experiences with the Jung Institute, because my father was managing the picture archives of the Institute, and I recall very fondly that as a child, I spent many afternoons at the picture archive with my father. I enjoyed these times very much. So there was a kind of connection building up at that time already.

S: You must have looked at pictures that were drawn by some of Jung’s patients?

A: I guess so. I mean this was, you know, over 50 years ago. I do recall looking at pictures and seeing all these images and this huge collection, but I would not recall any individual drawings, but I recall the whole atmosphere of the place, and the special atmosphere that was there. And this was, of course, the old Institute, when the Institute was at the Psychological Club.

Click HERE to read Susanna Wright’s interview with Andreas Michel in full.