“ The Complex is the best discussion [on the subject] I have seen.” Dr. James Hall

“ Erel Shalit has written a vigorous book. He explores the world of archetypes and complexes using the writings of Freud, Winnicott, Kafka and Andersen, as well as Adler, Jacobi and, of course, Jung. There is an interesting chapter on the Oedipus Complex, and one on the integration of the shadow which draws extensively on a case illustration from one of his patients who grew up in a kibbutz.” From The Journal of Analytical Psychology

“..very interesting and very stimulating..” Prof. Dr. Verena Kast

“.. Shalit is the messenger of a concept so complex yet made so accessible to our understanding by his methodical yet poetic description of the very motifs which grip our total existence.” Amazon

“Shalit uses myths, fairy tales and personal ex peri ences to underline and accent the conceptual framework which he explores. His efforts to explain the Jungian perspective are easily understood. His descriptions are pithy and concise. The Complex is challenging in that it can lead us to examine our own complexes and thus provide for one aspect of personal growth.” Jason Piercy , Jung Society of Montreal Newsletter.

“ Erel Shalit has made an exciting journey through the inner world of complexes. With great knowledge and exciting clinical examples he illustrates aspects of the psychoanalytical battlefield… There are plenty of thought-provoking ideas…” Anders Löfström , MD.

“In this book – to be read and read again – Erel Shalit sheds light on what complexes are, and how they are related to the archetypes and to the ego. He traces the history of the idea from Galton to Janet and Freud, and Jung's development of the concept.

Shalit describes the structure and the dynamics of the complex by means of a novel re adi ng of the Oedipus myth, so that Oedipus becomes the archetypal carrier of complexes.

The autonomous complex, which constitutes a Jungian approach to psychopathology, is extensively described by means of clinical and literary material. A close re adi ng of Kafka's A Letter to Father provides a chillingly perceptive view of a negative father-complex, and the son of a scarred Holocaust survivor illustrates a severe mother-complex. The examples are many, showing the suffering caused by complexes – but also the possibility of development.” Erik Nisser