Depth psychology and contemporary culture

Carl Jung's theory of the structure of personality is rooted in the notion of a universal and inherited collective unconscious. The archetypes that are generated from this collective unconscious can essentially be explained as predispositions to behave a certain way. In this case, the patient archetype is the magical/innocent child archetype, based on his need for escapism beginning in middle childhood (he began using drugs at age 8), and his transient and non-committal behaviors throughout his life. However, as Bennett (2010) text points out, "In the real world, there is nothing romantic or magical about psychotic disorders" (p. 76).

Jung (1968) was intrigued by the dichotomy of the child archetype as one in which the psyche would appear to reside in the past, but is actually focusing toward the future. In Jung's own words, "Since the child is essentially a potential being, the child motif in the psychology of the individual signifies generally the anticipation of future, even though the motif appears to operate in a retrospective manner" (p. 164). Essentially then, the child is a prospective configuration, or an image of the archetype of the potential future. Simply put, the "potential future" is the archetype, and the "child" is an apposite image of that archetype. From a Jungian perspective, the fantasies of the patient, including his dreams, are symbolic representations of the patient's own potential future. It is ultimately this sense of futurity that integrates the diversity of selves and sets forth the foundation for psychological maturity. As such, "the child motif is explained as a symbol that unites the opposites in one's personality, in that it anticipates the figure that comes from a synthesis of conscious and unconscious elements" (Jung, 1968, p. 164).

The patient's lifelong drug use, in addition to his lack of familial ties and failed marriages, is illustrative of his disassociation with intimacy and maturity. These qualities are likely rooted in a fear of abandonment, which is a common childhood fear, in conjunction with his apprehension toward achieving psychic independence. According to Schmidt (1986) the Jungian model which elevates the prepersonal to the transpersonal asserts that "development is seen as moving from a transpersonal, 'heavenly' source to its culmination in an alienated state of sinful personhood" (p. 45). Accordingly, the patient's disassociation with mainstream society is, from a Jungian perspective, parallel to the "alienated state of sinful personhood" which opts for escapism over reality. The patient's lifestyle choices are therefore a manifestation of suppression (as opposed to repression), thus allowing him to "mobilize [his] resources to deal with the stressor on [his] own terms" (Bennett, 2010, p. 68).

It is inadvisable, however, to automatically attach this diagnosis to the patient based on his archetype alone. Jung considered the collective unconscious to be comprised of archetypes composed of an assortment of motifs that have evolved in humans in sync with the human evolutionary process. Because these archetypes have evolved with humanity, they have become ubiquitous. However that does not mean that each individual does not have his or her own version of these archetypes. People's adaptations of the themes that emerge from their psyche differ from others based on their own personal experiences. Thus, for example, had the patient not been exposed to drugs at the early age of 8, he may have psychologically matured to a point in which his adult psyche would respond differently to certain stimuli.

The patient's behaviors are not however, atypical in relation to his experiences. He is just one of many individuals who find themselves immersed in alienation because they cannot live up to the high expectations placed on them by society, and in turn, by themselves. These childhood drives to reach "the highest truths and values" (Palmer, 1999) are often thwarted by personal failures. When one's role in life does not match up with who or what he is told he is supposed to be, escapism through drugs, dissociation, and detachment from interpersonal relationships are common coping tools.

Jung purports that although dissociation "is most clearly observable in psychopathology, fundamentally it is a normal phenomenon" (Jung, 1991, p. 121). He adds that the products of dissociation "behave like independent beings" (p. 121). These products may appear in personified form - although Jung adds that these personifications appear particularly as archetypal figures. The psyche, he asserts, has an intrinsic capacity, or tendency, to dissociate. Thus the patient's lack of contact with his son and his inability to sustain a long-lasting marriage are in many ways natural derivatives of his innocent child archetype combined with his life experiences.

According to Bennett (2010) "The psychotic personality literally lives inside the fairy-tale, and this primitive but energetically vibrant internal world is dominated by elemental forces which keep the individual chronically mired in life-or-death quandaries and themes of basic survival" (p. 75). In many ways, however, this can also be said of the habitual drug user. Drug use is a form of escapism that creates an "internal world dominated by elemental forces" and thus drug addiction can easily mirror many of the symptoms of psychosis. Accordingly, from a Jungian perspective, the patient's lifelong abuse of drugs is rooted in the same type of mental and experiential constructs to which the psychotic personality is privy.