The Mentor-In the Hero’s and Heroine’s journey
Joseph Campbell rolls open the blueprints for constructing an epic tale in The Hero With 1,000 Faces. The Hero’s journey consists of three main stages: departure, initiation, and return. A myriad of characters are introduced in the Hero’s Journey during these various stages. One facet in the early part of the hero’s journey caught my interest: the hero often encounters a mentor or “Spiritual Aid.” [1] A mentor takes the role of guide, helping the hero “rise from nobody to somebody.” [2] With the desire to uncover the role of the mentor, I found an article by David Safford who encourages writers to incorporate mentor characters in their storytelling. Safford describes a mentor as someone who “passes on knowledge and teaches skill” to the main character. [3] He asserts that there are five different mentor types: The Guide, The Trainer, The Father/Mother, The Priest/Monk, The Counselor. I couldn’t help but wonder how my Marriage Family Therapist position might be viewed as one of these mentor types. I will attempt to assess my role as a Guide, Trainer, Father/Mother, Priest/Monk. I will describe each of these roles and share how a counselor aides true heroes: clients.
The Guide is someone who knows the map and can bring insight as to what might lie ahead. Mr. Tumnus is a good example of a guide from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. [4] Mr. Tumnus meets Lucy soon after she enters Narnia, he warns her of the White Witch. Much like friendly Mr. Tumnus, God brought a kind couple into my husband and I’s life who assisted us in premarital counseling. Upon completing our final session, I remember telling my husband that we should provide this experience for young couples in our future. We have done just that. I learned how to administer the Prepare and Enrich assessment and this tool is what we use with couples. Clients benefit from my husband and I working with them as they receive a husband and wife’s perspective. Equipping couples in communication and processing expectations are two skills we hope to give couples as they begin their marital journey.
The Trainer is cast as a character who “is a former hero who failed or suffered an injury that prevented them from success.” [5] My favorite trainer is Mr. Miyagi in the movie Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi instructed the Karate Kid in detailing cars by applying “wax on” and “wax off.” As a trainer, he was not explicit in why he had the Karate Kid wash cars with this strategy. A trainer doesn’t always make his lessons obvious. Often, I assess a client’s self-care and promote different ways a client might pursue self-management. My clients may not fully understand how self-care might improve their circumstances, but the underlying principle is set in motion: once a person starts feeling better about themselves, they will have the energy/optimism to work on their other relationships.
I am often cast in the role of a mother or a father with my clients. Clients need unconditional love and acceptance, and this has not been provided by their biological parents (to varying degrees). In E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, a simple spider provides love to a pig by “revitalizing language and wields her authority in ways that transform Wilbur and ennoble him.” [6] Charlotte may be the heroine in this story, but she can also be cast as a mentor taking a parental role. As an alternate parental figure in my client’s lives, I can help them see themselves differently. When the spider web read: “Radiant,” “Terrific,” and “Humble,” Wilbur took on a new identity. This new identity helped him get to the fair and escape being butchered. It is my hope to help my clients gain a new self-affirming identity and find new ways in defining themselves to achieve heroic deeds.
There are times I function as a priest or monk in the counseling office. Clients often come to counseling needing to confess their inner turmoil or inappropriate behavior. This confession is cathartic, and a client finds relief in experiencing acceptance despite their transgressions. In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey, upon having suicidal ideation, is introduced to his angel Clarence Odbody. This obtuse character helps George see the value and purpose he has brought to the people in his community. Without quoting a Bible verse, I can relate truth into a client’s situation by identifying the support system a person has and how they are loved by these people. I can also take a priestly role by helping to dismantle lies and focus on truth. It is my prayer that the boon in my client’s lives will be discerning truth. Ultimately God is at work; “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) Campbell’s final words in his book are: “It is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so every one of us shares the supreme ordeal-carrying the cross of the redeemer-not in the bright moments of his tribe’s great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair.” [7]
There is a window of opportunity, only a few chapters in my client’s lives, where I am invited to be a mentor. Meeting the mentor takes place as clients want to make changes in their lives at an intrapsychic/spiritual level. I have the privilege of being included in their story and this is something I do not take lightly. My clients are the heroes of their own journey.
[1]The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell, p.28
[2] Meeting the Mentor: A Vital Moment in Every Hero’s Journey Story. The Write Practice, David Safford.
[3] ibid. p.2
[4] The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis 1950
[5] Meeting the Mentor: A Vital Moment in Every Hero’s Journey Story, p.3
[6] The Heroine with 1,001 Faces, Maria Tatar 2021, p.49
[7] The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell, 2008, p.337
About the Author
Kristy Newport
4 responses to “The Mentor-In the Hero’s and Heroine’s journey”
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Kristy, thank you for sharing about your role as a mentor in the hero’s and heroine’s journey. I love that you and your husband are providing for others what you received. It is evident that the Lord pours out through you. You say that your clients are the heroes on their journey. Where on your own journey do you see yourself as a hero?
Hi Becca,
I appreciate your challenging question.
When I was thirteen years old God gave me this verse:
Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
I am a hero when this verse has had its full meaning in my life. Please journey with me as I further consider what action this verse is to take. I have sown tears, I have wept, I have carried seed to sow. In this new season of my life, I am ready to return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves.
I invite you to join me in my journey as I ponder how Jesus wants this Word to have fruit in my life. I welcome your presence and questions.
Kristy,
What an excellent post. The connections you made with the five different mentor types to familiar stories such as Narnia were comparable to looking through a microscope. The connections brought into sharper focus the roles/responsibilities each mentor type serves.
From a personal reflection perspective, was there a specific “departure or journey” you’ve had to undertake?
Audrey,
I appreciate your comments and thank you for your question.
I believe the biggest departure in my journey came soon after I was married. I had wanted to pursue my masters but doubted that my husband would agree to pay for this education (some of this thinking came from my father being reluctant to pay for my education). After six months of being married my husband and I were offered a position as Residence directors at a local university. God completely put this together for us! I was able to begin my masters work and less than a year later my husband was able to pursue his MBA. In two and half years we walked away from that university without having to pay for tuition, MA degrees in hand. It was an amazing way to begin our married lives and I surpassed the education level achieved in my family of origin. I had begun a long journey to becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist. It was the first big step to seeing this dream become a reality. God lined it up. God put this together. God allowed me to see that He was my Heavenly Father and this included taking care of the bill. I am incredibly grateful to God for His provision in my life and allowing me to become a therapist. Twenty-eight years later, I am able to have perspective on this time of my life and rejoice in God. Psalm 119:116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.