Ontolokey

Integrating Jungian Functions into Experiential Therapy through the Se–Ni Axis

Introduction

Psychology is not only a science of the psyche but also a mirror of its creators. Each major school of thought—Freud’s psychoanalysis, Adler’s Individual Psychology, Jung’s analytical psychology, and Perls’ Gestalt therapy—carries the imprint of its founder’s typological orientation. What often appeared as theoretical disagreement was, in fact, a clash of psychological functions.

Carl Gustav Jung, himself an ISTP with dominant introverted thinking (Ti), recognized this dynamic more clearly than anyone. In Psychological Types (1921), he argued that psychological theory is shaped not simply by data but by the subjective standpoint of the theorist. Freud (Te-dominant), Adler (Fe-dominant), and Perls (Se-dominant) each saw human problems through the lens of their own personality.

The Ontolokey Cube extends Jung’s insight into a new visual and structural form. By mapping not only clients but also theorists within a functional geometry, it renders the subjectivity of psychology transparent—transforming competing theories into coordinates within a shared framework.

Gestalt Therapy as Se-Oriented Practice

Fritz Perls’ Gestalt therapy reflects the mindset of extraverted sensing (Se):

• Here-and-now focus: Gestalt avoids abstraction and draws the client into present experience.
• Embodied experimentation: Exercises such as the empty chair externalize inner dynamics into perceptible form.
• Action as awareness: Insight arises not from interpretation but from direct contact, expression, and sensation.

This orientation mirrors the Se-dominant personality (ESTP/ESFP): alive in the moment, experimental, and responsive to immediate reality.

The Empty Chair as Se–Ni Integration

Although Gestalt begins with Se, its signature technique—the empty chair—bridges to introverted intuition (Ni):

• Symbolic projection: An absent figure is given presence; the invisible is externalized.
• Dialogue with the unconscious: Clients engage with archetypal or unresolved aspects of the psyche.
• Pattern-making: Ni synthesizes meaning from the enacted dialogue, weaving fragments into symbolic coherence.

For Se-dominant clients, Gestalt therefore provides not only affirmation of their strength but also a pathway into their inferior Ni—structured, tolerable, and transformative.

Adler, Freud, Jung, and Perls: Typological Contrasts

• Alfred Adler (ENFJ – Fe-dominant): His Individual Psychology emphasized Gemeinschaftsgefühl (community feeling), belonging, and the ethical responsibility of the individual to the social whole. Psychological health was defined in terms of relatedness and values, a classic Fe perspective.
• Sigmund Freud (ENTJ/ESTJ – Te-dominant): Freud’s genius was to order the psyche into a system (id, ego, superego), reflecting Te’s drive to structure, organize, and universalize. His conflicts with Adler and Jung stemmed as much from functional bias (Te vs. Fe vs. Ti) as from theoretical disagreement.
• Carl Gustav Jung (ISTP – Ti-dominant, with strong Se and tertiary Ni): Jung’s originality lay in realizing that every theorist interpreted psychology through the lens of type. His Psychological Types was not merely a taxonomy of patients but a meta-theory of theorists, exposing the hidden subjectivity behind systems. In this sense, Jung was the first to move toward an Ontolokey perspective.
• Fritz Perls (ESTP/ESFP – Se-dominant): His Gestalt therapy is the experiential counterpart of his type: rooted in the present, impatient with abstraction, and oriented toward direct engagement.

The Ontolokey Cube: Visualizing Subjectivity

The Ontolokey Cube provides a geometry that reveals psychology as a field of perspectives:

• Mapping theorists: Freud at Te, Adler at Fe, Jung at Ti, Perls at Se.
• Mapping clients: For Se-dominant individuals, Gestalt shows how their strength can be a bridge to Ni integration.
• Revealing bias: Each school ceases to be a competing claim to absolute truth and becomes a functional standpoint, situated in relation to others.

In this way, the cube transforms subjectivity into transparency.

Clinical Implications

1. For Se-dominant clients (ESTP, ESFP):
   • Gestalt affirms their natural mode of perception.
   • The empty chair activates Ni in a structured manner, allowing symbolic integration without overwhelming abstraction.
2. For therapists and scholars:
   • The cube reframes theoretical disagreements (Freud vs. Adler vs. Jung) as functional divergences rather than irreconcilable conflicts.
   • It becomes a psychoeducational tool to normalize client struggles with inferior functions.
3. For psychology as a discipline:
   • The cube offers a unifying meta-structure: psychology is not fragmented, but plural by design—its diversity a reflection of typological standpoints.

Conclusion

The great psychologists did not only study the psyche—they enacted their own type in theory. Freud (Te), Adler (Fe), Perls (Se), and Jung (Ti) each built systems that mirrored their functional orientation. Jung, uniquely, recognized this and made it explicit in Psychological Types.

The Ontolokey Cube extends this recognition into a visual framework. By mapping both theorists and clients, it reveals psychology not as a battlefield of subjective schools but as a structured interplay of perspectives.

Gestalt therapy exemplifies this: grounded in Se, it activates Ni, enabling growth through integration. The cube shows how such dynamics unfold across functions, rendering the subjectivity of psychology visible—and transforming it into a transparent, integrative whole.