First up, What is an archetype? and What is Archetypal Psychology?

An archetype is a model from which all the examples derive.

So the archetypal car has four wheels, an engine and a body. The archetypal horse has four feet, neck, tail, teeth and so on.

Archetypal Psychology has models of living in the world.

There are probably as many as you can think of. A few familiar psychological archetypes would be: the teacher, the salesperson, the bush mechanic; the gods of various religions can be psychological archetypes (zeus, kali and so on - whether they are gods or not is another question), as can be less vocational roles, the friend or the healer for instance.

The big name most associated with Archetypal Psychology is Carl Jung. However, his writings can be quite esoteric and hard to get in to. They are also mostly about understanding and less to do with healing. So they don’t usually give you ideas about how you can use this to improve your life. (With Jung it is often the case that it is best to approach his ideas through his followers and read Jung later.)

To my way of thinking

the great gift of Archetypal Psychology is the unity of the person and their environment.

Every archetype is an authentic expression of the individual and a way of living in the world. It isn’t the study of some internal mechanism devoid of a life (explaining how we can manipulate our thoughts and feelings so we can be happy in an abusive environment) and it is not just a recipe for success by manipulating the environment (all those books of stragies for success - usually measured in crassly financial terms). This is a gift much needed for psychotherapy I think.

For those of us who like things tight and definable Archetypal Psychology can be a bit frustrating. There is no exhaustive list of the archetypes available. This is also its strength - it is able to include an extraordinary range of material: any one’s story should be able to find a place within Archetypal Psychology.

Those who work in this way do come up with their own lists. An Australian, Katie Altham, has just published “Who Am I?”, which lists more than a hundred archetypes. These are arranged onto a map with places for mind, heart, body and soul. (You choose 12 archetypes - three for each place on the map).

There is also Carol S Pearson’s Awakening the Heroes Within. She has 12 archetypes. These are organised into the three stages of the hero’s journey: preparation, journey, return. She includes a quiz you can do to decide which are the more dominant archetypes in your life at the moment.

I have lived with this book for twenty years, and find myself returning to it again and again. It is clearly written and incorporates a huge range of material. It provided great understanding for me when I first used it and it continues to do so.

It is not terribly strong on therapy. However, it does have suggestions for developing each archetype but these are fairly brief and quick. But, as a way of understanding it is quite superb.

If you want a good way of understanding and integrating different areas of your life then Archetypal Psychology is well worth checking out.

Here is some starting points.
1. Identifying your archetype(s).
What stories or people grabbed your attention in childhood (whether you liked them or not)?
What kiinds of stories or people capture your attention now?
Who are your heroes and villains?

2. See what theme(s) there are in these stories.
Do the stories have room for different parts of your life? A career, friendships, lovers, children . . . ? What other archetypes do you need in your life?
Does the story have an ending?
If so: is it one you like? If not: then change it!

3. To move forward into your preferred future, what kind of supporters do you need?