Fairytales as a resource for working with maladaptive schemas and pathological complex episodes

Abstract

In both Analytical Psychology and Schema Therapy, there are concepts described which explain how mental disorders and symptoms can occur due to dysfunctional relationship patterns. These are difficult generalised relationship episodes, in which internally two persons in the form of a child (as primal intensive emotional state) and an attachment figure (as internalised negative judgements) are pitted against each other. The goal of both approaches is to modify the negative cognitive assessments and to make the primary experience of the infantile emotional states conscious. However, defence, compensation, and coping behaviours protect the person from these predominantly painful infantile emotional states and make access to them difficult. Fairytales illustrate the universal human experience and cultural inheritance of relationship narratives, a great source of relationship patterns. The vivid, imaginative side within humans is highlighted through fairytales; they reflect children’s spectrum of feelings. Within the therapeutic process, fairytales offer the possibility to observe this emotional spectrum both empathically and at arm’s length. This opens up possibilities for becoming conscious, for the development of empathy for these emotional states, therefore for oneself and for mentalisation. The following article illustrates how the formation of and the coping strategies for dysfunctional relationship patterns are represented in fairytales, and thus how resources in the therapeutic process can be developed.

Keywords: Analytical psychology, complex, complex episodes, fairytale, modus, resource, schema, schema therapy