A Heroic Journey: Re-Conceptualizing Adjustment Disorder Through the Lens of the Hero's Quest

Abstract

For thousands of years books have been considered to have the capacity to heal. Over the past 100 years the use of what is termed “bibliotherapy,” the use of literature to heal, has grown and now appears in myriad forms to treat individuals struggling with psychological challenges and other maladies. This paper presents an overview of fiction-based bibliotherapy and then transitions into a cursory explanation of both Carl Jung's concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes as well as Joseph Campbell's concepts of the mono-myth and the archetypal hero's quest. After re-conceptualizing adjustment disorder (AD) through the lens of the hero's quest, this paper provides a hypothetical conceptualization of how all of these elements (the collective unconscious, archetypes, the hero's quest, and mono-myth) can be integrated into a new form of bibliotherapy (hero's quest bibliotherapy) that can serve as a therapeutic resource for clinicians working with clients who have been diagnosed with AD. Finally, a case example is presented to further illustrate how this intervention looks in practice. This re-conceptualization of AD and innovative intervention closely align with the human-development focused, strength-based, personal-growth oriented professional identity of counseling.

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