Mytho-Archetypal Model

The mytho-archetypal approach in psychology and counseling draws primarily on Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949).

Campbell's main discovery. Campbell demonstrated that myths from diverse cultures reproduce the same narrative pattern — the "Hero's Journey" (monomyth).

7 Stages of the Monomyth

• The call to adventure
• Crossing the threshold
• Trials
• Encounters with allies and enemies
• The supreme ordeal
• Receiving the boon
• The return with transformative knowledge

Built on Jung. Campbell built upon Jungian archetype theory and comparative mythology.

Practical Application

A biography on a mythological map. The method invites a person to map their biography or current situation onto a mythological template.

Examples of mapping:

• Going through a period of loss and disorientation? → "The Dark Night of the Soul" or a descent to the underworld (Persephone, Odysseus)
• Feeling bound by others' expectations? → Heracles performing labors for Eurystheus

Not explanation, but meaning. Such mapping does not explain the causes of a situation, but gives it meaning and places it within a broader narrative context — which in itself is a powerful therapeutic resource.

Different Mytho-Archetypal Systems

• Campbell's monomyth — the best known but not the only one
• Jean Shinoda Bolen — a system of Greek gods as psychological archetypes ("Goddesses in Every Woman", "Gods in Every Man")
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés — works with fairy-tale archetypes
• Moreno's psychodrama — group enactment

Place in Errarium

Archetypal logic everywhere. In Errarium, the mytho-archetypal model (#34) is designated as a separate method, although archetypal logic pervades many other systems:

• Jungian archetypes (#11) — the theoretical foundation
• Tarot (#20) and Runes (#21) — kindred symbolic languages

The key distinction. The mytho-archetypal model works with narrative as such — with the story a person tells about their life — not with numbers, cards, or planets.