The myths in mental illness (original) (raw)

To my amazement. .. the imagery of schizophrenic fantasy perfectly matches that of the mythological Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell In the spring of 1982,I co-led a workshop entitled "Psychosis: Mysticism, Shamanism, or Pathology?" with medical anthropologist Joan Halifax, Ph.D. The workshop was held at the Ojai Foundation, a Los Angeles area retreat center, and explored the relationship between creativity and pathology in psychotic states of mind. Publicity about this event drew responses from several people who were interested in the topic but unable to attend. Among them was Howard C. Everest, a former psychiatric patient. In the fall of 1982,I taught a seminar for psychiatric residents, psychology interns and staff at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute where I am currently on the facuIty. I invited several ex-patients, including Howard, to visit the seminar and discuss their psychotic episodes, their treatment by the mental health system, and the difficulties they had encountered in readjusting to consensual reality and societal norms. Howard responded eagerly to my invitation to present, since he never before had an "Howard C. Everest" is a pseudonym created by the author of the case history portion of this paper for purposes of retaining the client's anonymity. Any relationship between this "Howard C. Everest" and anyother individual with a similar name is purely coincidental. The author wishes to thank Gale Thompson, M.A., and Christel Feuerhake, Ph.D .• for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. Preparation of this article was supported in part by MHCRC Grant 30911.