Using myths, legends and fairy tales in counselling: Archetypal motifs underlying the mother complex

This paper aims to show how re-familiarizing with the concept of archetypes and their manifestations in myths, legends and fairy tales can provide the therapist with a practical and helpful tool for working with clients. Jung did not leave a clear-cut clinical methodology for later generations to adopt and evolve. Instead, the curriculum for the aspiring analyst was (and continues to be) Jungian analysis itself tempered by reading key works of Jung and successors. Espousing an archetypal perspective, this paper refers to several examples of the negative mother archetype as it appears embodied in a myth, a legend and a Chinese filial piety exemplar. The analysis of this sampling of literary narratives from various cultures is used to illustrate the universal nature of archetypes and how they can be leveraged by the clinician to shed light on the modalities of symptomology presented by the client in the grip of a mother complex.