Harnessing the Healing Power of Therapeutic Fanfiction
[Music]
once upon a time
there was a hero who didn’t know that
they were a hero
they didn’t realize that they had been
called to adventure
and that they held in their hands an
invitation to question
and if they choose shift their life’s
narrative
that hero is you and that time is now
the call to adventure is always
unsettling which is why heroes
initially refuse the call that is until
they receive help from a guide
with this support they are able to take
that step from the ordinary world
into the extraordinary today allow me
to be the avatar or placeholder for your
preferred guide
i invite you to pause for a moment and
imagine who you would most like to guide
you on this
journey do you have someone in mind
invite them to join you
if you’re having difficulty thinking of
a guide consider some
archetypal sages galadriel
morpheus or yoda and if you’re having
difficulty allowing yourself to be
playful
you’ve just been given your journey’s
first gift
the gift of information are you ready
let’s cross the threshold to learn new
skills and overcome challenges along the
way
what you’re experiencing right now is
therapeutic fan fiction
in action we are combining the ancient
power of story
inherent in the monomyth also known as
the one myth or hero’s journey
with pop culture stories which i prefer
to call
modern mythologies to empower you to
rewrite the story of your life
drawing on the power of narrative
therapy social constructionism and play
therapy
and with the wisdom of carl jung and
joseph campbell
therapeutic fan fiction offers a source
of healing
and a language with which to understand
the worlds both around us
and within us bringing our modern
mythological heroes out into the real
world to help us fulfill our destiny
unlocks the power of play that all
humans need
regardless of their chronological age
this playful engagement with story is
very similar to the way in which
modern fan fiction writers rewrite
stories that aren’t serving them
we can learn a lot from fan fiction
writers
these are folks who see a story and
think i can make this better
or more relevant or more inclusive
fan fiction writers may make slight
adjustments to a familiar story
or change the story drastically in order
to create a new narrative that feels
more authentic to
them some fan fiction is produced by
huge corporations with multi-million
dollar budgets
and some is created by teens in their
bedrooms late at night
and while one of those tends to get a
claim and the other derision
they are using the exact same skills
skills that we can all harness to
improve the story of our lives
the first and most transformative skill
that we can take from fan fiction
writers
is questioning social constructs
most people look at the world around
them and assume that it is
immovable unchangeable fixed
but the reality is that it was
individual people
person to person to person who lived and
worked together
who began to create the story of their
reality
these started as agreements for conduct
that served them as a social group
at the time all of our beliefs and norms
are socially constructed
created by human beings over time and
accepted to the point that they are no
longer questioned
and are instead believed to be
irrefutable fact
but these aren’t facts at all just
stories
and stories can change in fact
stories need to change and it’s best if
we
are in control of our own narrative
one of the greatest powers that
therapeutic fan fiction gives us
is the power to ask what if
over time unchecked stories can morph
from agreed upon rules to immutable fact
this takes away our ability to choose
when we believe that there is no other
way no alternate story we are stuck
and some stories are more persistent
than others
while favored clothing styles and music
genres are fairly malleable
gender and body norms are more
entrenched
these stories become systems that have a
power greater than the sum of their
component parts
the science fiction television series
westworld is a useful story for
conceptualizing this idea
so useful in fact that when discussing
social constructionism
my collaborative partner and i call it
the westworld construct
westworld the series centers on a
western style
amusement park created by human beings
for other human beings
which sounds ordinary enough but the
park is an
artificial world inhabited by humanistic
robots called hosts
the park is completely fabricated from
the hosts themselves to the repetitive
stories or loops that the hosts inhabit
initially the idea of two men the park
becomes a complex system with
writers and directors and investors a
story much
bigger than its creators can control
the westworld park is monitored and
changed as needed
when the powers that be deem it
necessary or when the guests of the park
demand it
and the loops are based on one very
important construct
that all of the humans agreed to
the hosts lack a consciousness or sense
of self
this construct is not only incorrect but
dangerously so
in the westworld series both of the
original creators have to reckon with
the world they had made
and so do we the creatures of earth
it can be very difficult to look at the
world around us and start to ask
how is this serving me and others
how is this harming me and others but
it’s so
important we don’t know what we don’t
know
but once we do it is vital that we
re-evaluate our own story
and the greater societal story in which
we inhabit
when we begin to question westworld
constructs such as
how bodies are seen and portrayed in our
culture and how much this hurts
us individually and collectively we may
find ourselves
flooded with emotion when we pause to
notice these emotions
we may find that these intense feelings
match the stages of grief
denial bargaining anger
depression and acceptance
eventually we will also find meaning but
that comes later
losing a story even a story that no
longer serves us
is a loss and with loss
comes the darkness at this point of the
hero’s journey we find ourselves in the
abyss
this is a metaphorical death if you are
experiencing some emotional distress in
this moment
simply notice it without judgment this
is a part of you
trying to share important information
perhaps take a moment to write down a
thought you wish to return to later
the abyss is meant to change us
and change comes with discomfort
whatever is happening in your mind and
body
is here to inform you it’s simply
information
while the abyss is incredibly
uncomfortable it’s important to remember
that it is the halfway point of the
hero’s journey
not the end the suffering is temporary
to help us
transform this is a good reminder
in this moment and in the future when
the story feels at its darkest
the light is just around the corner
so even though it might feel scary right
now i
invite you to take a breath and remember
that you aren’t alone
bring to mind your sage companion
perhaps now is a good time to begin to
add more characters to your fellowship
much like frodo baggins had a fellowship
of eight others to help him carry his
burden of the one ring in the lord of
the rings
we aren’t limited to only one helper and
who you choose depends on the perils
that you face
aragorn son of aerothorn is an excellent
companion for fighting orcs
but might be less suitable to aiding you
in confronting your boss
about your subpar performance review
consider for a moment which characters
from stories have resonated with you
over the years it might help at first to
consider
which stories you turn to when you are
feeling a big feeling
to which worlds do you wish to return
the characters and stories with which
you resonate
the ones that feel like home and family
these are your fandom attachments
my first fandom attachment was to the
david lynch television series twin peaks
i was admittedly too young to be
watching this surrealist crime drama in
1990
and while many of the themes were lost
on me
one was not the character of fbi agent
dale cooper
known as coop to his friends resonated
profoundly with me
to my young mind he was a study and
duality that i didn’t know could exist
he was quirky and compassionate driven
and kind dapper and unpretentious
when he spoke in awe of going to a place
both wonderful and strange
i realized that there was a place for me
in
this world throughout my life i’ve
returned to twin peaks when i needed a
safe place to be strange
and it was wonderful coop was there for
me
and still is offering wisdom about the
importance of daily gifts coop advises
every day once a day give yourself a
present
don’t plan it don’t wait for it just let
it happen
coop is definitely in my fellowship and
to keep him
and twin peaks close to me i keep an
assortment of twin peaks iconography in
my office
every time i turn around i’m reminded of
coop’s wise words
and the serene yet spooky world that
welcomes me back
exactly as i am every single
time these images and toys keep me
grounded and attuned to my fellowship
once you’ve found your own fellowship
consider having some of your own totems
nearby
in this context i’m using the word totem
for its ancient meaning
as an object of power you can find or
create your totems to keep yourself
connected to the extraordinary world
just like galadriel the lady of light in
the lord of the rings offered frodo the
light of arendelle
to be a light to you in dark places when
all
other lights go out you can turn to your
own totem in your time of need
to light the way with our fellowship’s
help
we begin to make our way out of the
abyss and a number of revelations begin
to arise leading to questions
of course i can make changes in my life
but what about the larger systems that i
can’t change
and how can i possibly be different in a
world that is
constantly applying pressure to me to
conform to the rules
and you want me to play i’m a grown-up
it seems that the darkness of the abyss
did indeed shine a light on some
questions brewing in our minds
in the same way that society is
constructed person to person over time
this is how society is changed
it took more than one host to bring down
the westworld park after all
but one had to start the chain to take
down
constructs like diet culture or systemic
racism
individuals must work together as a
cooperative writers room
each choosing to change their individual
narratives
in order to change the greater story
as you begin to question the westworld
constructs that you see around you
it’s important to verbalize to normalize
for
others yes it’s uncomfortable to be the
first
to step outside of the westworld
construct of your family or social group
when they see you fortified by your
fellowship
challenging the powers that be they will
begin to feel empowered to do so as well
it’s a slow process and it takes every
one of us
doing our part it takes time for the
greater systemic story to be changed
and we can make meaning from this
struggle
to paraphrase nietzsche and victor
frankl
a person can survive any how for
a why facing the greater systems can be
frustrating
but it can also be empowering especially
when we see others who are fighting
our fight by our sides
calling upon the sage gandalf i am
reminded all we have to decide
is what to do with the time that is
given to us
and yes one of the things we must decide
to do
is give ourselves permission to be
playful
the idea that only children need play is
an outdated westworld construct
if you allow yourself to play you are
inviting the world to be more playful
with you
and in that moment you are the spark
that begets a
dragon’s fire what game of thrones
daenerys might call
the dracarus of change
and with this knowledge you’re just
about ready to start the journey home
as we make our way back towards the
ordinary world
i give you this talk as a gift
i hope that you will return to the
ordinary world changed
or at least with some new ideas to
consider
the final task is yours alone hero
take this gift out into your community
and share what you have learned
offer this gift freely verbalize to
normalize
play change while this chapter of your
story is ending
the next one is yet to come you
have the power to save the world
i think i hear the call to adventure
will you accept the call
to be continued