THE EFFECT OF ARCHETYPE EDUCATION AND ANALYSIS ON DEPRESSION

Abstract

Approximately 20% of the population exhibits symptoms of depression. The objective of this one-group pretest-posttest study was to evaluate the effects of archetype education on depression in a group of participants (N = 32) meeting the eligibility criteria for this study. Participants were involved in an intervention which assessed their most influential archetypal aspects, involved them in an educational process, and enabled them to learn how an archetype could be manifesting and affecting their behavior. Volunteers aged 18-70 were recruited through advertising and word-of-mouth, and had to be experiencing mild to chronic depression, either self-diagnosed or under a doctor's care. The baseline for entry into the study was a score of at least 50 on the Zung Test for Depression indicating at least mild depression. Prior to meeting for the education session, participants were provided with a package of information on archetypes, and pre-testing forms. Participants were evaluated in pre-and post-testing, the time between the testing was at least a month to enable them to embrace the archetypal education. Participants engaged in at least one archetype education session and four follow-up phone calls which reinforced the use of information shared in the session. The study was built on the work of Caroline Myss and her book, Sacred Contracts. Depressed archetypes were determined through a placement evaluation questionnaire designed for the study. With increased understanding of the archetype identified as being depressed, participants learned the ways this archetype was maintaining its depressive state and then learned to modifY that behavior. Results of post-testing (Zung and State Trait) indicate that understanding one's archetypal characteristics has a significant impact on depression (p < .001).