Re‐enchantment in Adolescent Psyche: Spiritual Experiences in Video Games and Dreams 1
Kan Chen, Xiao You
Journal of Analytical Psychology April 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.70057 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | Adolescents who played online video games |
| Duration | 10-week follow-up period |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Archetype Transformative learning Perspective graphical Spiritual growth Narrative Spiritual development Synchronicity Psychoanalysis Psychotherapist Religious experience |
| Key findings | Video games can evoke spiritual experiences that activate the archetype of initiation and interact with dreams, contributing to individuation in adolescents. |
Abstract
Abstract This study explores spiritual experiences in online video games and dreams from the perspective of analytical psychology, focusing on how such experiences activate the archetype of initiation in adolescents. Method: The present study adopted a Jungian psychological perspective to analyse symbols and psychological processes emerging in dreams that occurred after interaction with video games. Scores on Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ‐30) were used to assess whether the participant had undergone a spiritual experience while playing video games. Participants continued to record dreams for a 10‐week follow‐up period. The paper presents two case studies to illustrate that video games can evoke diverse spiritual experiences that are often connected to an individual's personal complexes. These spiritual experiences may activate the archetype of initiation and interact with dreams, thereby contributing to the process of individuation. In cases of addiction, an archetypal self‐care system may be at play—representing a destructive aspect of the Self—which is experienced as a damaging form of spirituality. The paper suggests that Jungian analysts and educators should recognize the transformative and spiritual dimensions embedded in video games to support healthy initiation in adolescent development.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The vidente phenomenon in third world traditional healing: An amazonian example Urban healer don Hilde and his patients in Pucallpa, Peru | 1984 | Case study | |
| In the Pause and Listening to the Little People Folk healer (White Bear) | 2011 | Qualitative case study | |
| The Bad Seed: Mystical Experience and Time Travel in the Treatment of Psychopathy A psychopathic personality | 2023 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Safavid Twelver Lettrism Between Sunnism and Shiʿism, Mysticism and Science: Rajab al-Bursī vs. Maḥmūd Dihdār Two Twelver Shi'i lettrists, al-Ḥāfiẓ Rajab al-Bursī and Maḥmūd Dihdār Shīrāzī | 2023 | Comparative case study | |
| Newer substances and their effects: A case report 36-year-old woman immigrant from South America | 2016 | Case study | n = 1 |