How to Use Archetypes For Healing & Individuation

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” — Carl Jung

What are Archetypes?

Once upon a time, we were told who we had to be. To be quiet. To be small. To earn love by silencing our own voice. But inside, something wilder was always stirring. A whole cast of characters refusing to stay hidden. These characters are what Carl Jung called archetypes. Archetypes are universal symbols or patterns of energy that live in the collective unconscious (Jung, 1969).

You’ve likely met them before, even if you didn’t have names for them:

• The wounded child who just wants to be held.

• The perfectionist who triple-checks every email.

• The rebel who side-eyes authority.

• The mystic who senses something bigger than this flesh suit.

Archetypes help us make meaning of our internal system. They’re not rigid labels, they’re energetic templates that show up in every culture and every person. They help us ask, “What part of me is showing up right now?” and “What is this part protecting or longing for?”

They are not just stories in myths or cards in the Tarot. They are alive in you. The Warrior who rises when you feel threatened. The Lover who aches for intimacy. The Rebel who pushes against the rules. The Innocent child who just wants to play.

And maybe you’ve felt them. One part of you says yes to everything. Another part is ready to burn it all down. That’s not dysfunction. That’s your inner system working exactly as it should.

🌿 Archetypes and Internal Family Systems

In therapy, especially in Internal Family Systems (IFS), we talk about these inner versions as parts. Some protect. Some exile pain. Some soothe. All of them carry positive intent, even when their strategies are messy or extreme.

Archetypes give these parts a mythic face. A Warrior protector part may step in when you’re in danger. A Lover exile might carry the longing for connection. A Trickster firefighter might joke or self-sabotage to keep you from feeling pain.

IFS teaches that you are not just your parts. At your core is Self—the calm, compassionate, clear energy that can lead your inner system. When Self is present, archetypes move out of their shadow and back into their light.

🌒 Shadow and Light

Every archetype carries two sides, a postive and a negative aspect. In its shadow, it acts out of fear, trauma, or pain. In its light, it becomes a gift, a resource, a way back home.

The Warrior can harden into cruelty, or rise as disciplined protector.

The Lover can collapse into obsession, or awaken joy and connection.

The Trickster can sabotage, or laugh us free from taking life too seriously.

The work isn’t to kill the shadow. The work is to see it, to unburden it, and to invite it home under the leadership of Self.

🗺️ A Guide to Archetypes

Here are some of the archetypes you may meet in yourself, and how they can move from shadow to light when seen with compassion:

Archetype	Shadow	Light	Practices
Innocent / Inner Child	Naïve, dependent	Playful, curious	Inner child journaling, safe place imagery, art
Orphan	Cynical, mistrusting	Resilient, connected	Self-compassion, group therapy, chosen family
Warrior	Aggressive, rigid	Courageous, protective	Martial arts, boundary practice, assertiveness
Caregiver	Martyrdom, burnout	Nurturing with balance	Self-care rituals, saying no, reparenting self
Rebel	Self-sabotaging	Visionary, liberating	Creative activism, ritual burning, breathwork
Magician	Manipulative, detached	Healer, transformer	Visualization, ritual, dream journaling
Sage	Cold, arrogant	Wise, discerning	Meditation, reflective journaling, mindful study
Lover	Obsessive, dependent	Passionate, embodied	Somatic touch, joy lists, mirror work
Ruler	Tyrant, powerless	Ethical leader	Vision boards, values work, healthy boundaries
Trickster	Deceptive, sabotaging	Playful, flexible	Humor, improv, reframing, play therapy

No archetype is bad. The question is: is this part burdened and stuck in shadow, or is it Self-led and living in the light?

🌱 Why Archetypes Heal

• Archetypes help us reframe our inner battles. Instead of “I’m lazy,” you see “My Orphan feels alone.” Instead of “I’m too much,” you notice “My Lover is hungry for connection.”

• This shift softens shame. It creates compassion. It reminds you that your parts are not your enemies. They are archetypal energies carrying burdens that can be healed.

• As Herman (1992) wrote, reclaiming identity after trauma is central to recovery. Archetypes give us a mythic language for that reclamation. They remind us that our suffering has a place in a bigger story.

• And when archetypes are met in the body: through movement, ritual, breath, or play—they become lived, not just thought about (Ogden, Minton, & Pain, 2006). This is how story and body meet, how integration happens.

• Archetypes can be used as a framework to understand, name, and work with those parts. Naming a part “The Warrior” or “The Caregiver” often feels more empowering than saying “my anxious manager.” It offers clients a mythic, meaningful language to reclaim their healing.

• According to research in narrative therapy and psychodynamic theory, symbolic re-authoring of identity can support integration, especially in trauma survivors (Neimeyer, 2006)

• Somatic practices like movement, play, and ritual help these archetypes live in our bodies, not just in our heads (Ogden, Minton, & Pain, 2006). Healing happens when story and body finally speak the same language.

Journaling Prompts to Meet Your Archetypes

Use these prompts to explore your own inner world:

• “What archetypes do I over-identify with?”

• “Which archetype is underdeveloped in me?”

• “What archetype shows up when I feel scared?”

• “What archetype do I want to embody more?”

  
  

Evidence-Based Benefits of Symbolic + Archetypal Work

• Increases insight & self-awareness (Hill, 2015)

• Supports trauma narrative integration (Neimeyer, 2006)

• Improves self-compassion by externalizing inner pain (Germer & Neff, 2013)

• Reduces shame and pathologizing by giving parts a role, not a diagnosis

• Encourages coherence between parts and Self (Schwartz & Sweezy, 2021)

🧙🏽‍♀️ Final Words: Your Psyche is a Sacred Story

You are not a single, simple self. You are a constellation, a system of parts all doing their best to survive and belong. A whole mythic ecosystem. Warrior, Lover, Rebel, Sage. They are not here to punish you. They are here to show you where love is needed.

So the next time you feel pulled in different directions, pause and ask:

Who is speaking inside me right now? What do they need?

Because you are not broken. You are a living myth. And every part of you, shadow and light, belongs. You are many voices, many faces, many archetypes. Archetypes don’t box you in. They remind you that your pain, your protection, your joy, your rage, they all have a place in the bigger story.

In my work as a trauma-informed therapist, I’ve watched clients transform when they realize:

“Wait… I’m not crazy. I’m just The Warrior, exhausted. I’m The Innocent, terrified. I’m The Rebel, trying to break free.”

And when those parts get seen?

They soften.

They trust.

They let Self lead.

You don’t need to fight your inner cast of characters.

You just need to meet them.

Want to go deeper with your inner archetypes and parts?

Explore book a session at Sacred Spaces with us today https://sacredspaces.teletherapy.io/. 💌

References

Germer, C. K., & Neff, K. D. (2013). Self-compassion in clinical practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(8), 856-867.

Hill, C. E. (2015). Helping skills: Facilitating exploration, insight, and action. American Psychological Association.

Jung, C. G. (1969). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (Vol. 9). Princeton University Press.

Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Narrative strategies in grief therapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 19(1), 51–65.

Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. Norton.

Schwartz, R. C., & Sweezy, M. (2021). Internal Family Systems Therapy (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications.

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery. Basic Books.