Michael Cole

This exploratory mixed-methods dissertation study examined Tarot-assisted psychotherapy as a symbolic, imaginal, and synchronistic intervention for adults experiencing depression and anxiety. The study was grounded in clinical psychology, Jungian and archetypal theory, and meaning-centered approaches to psychotherapy. Rather than treating Tarot as a divinatory instrument, the protocol used Tarot imagery as a structured reflective tool for exploring affect, self-narrative, symbolic patterning, and psychological change. Ten adult participants completed four weekly individual Zoom sessions using a structured Tarot-assisted psychotherapy protocol organized around the question, “How can this person overcome depression and anxiety?” Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 before and after the intervention and provided qualitative journal reflections between sessions. Quantitative findings showed reductions in depression and anxiety scores, though these changes were not statistically significant in this small exploratory sample. Mean BDI-II scores decreased from 29.0 to 20.0, and mean GAD-7 scores decreased from 7.3 to 6.0. Qualitative analysis suggested that participants frequently experienced Tarot imagery as a catalyst for self-reflection, emotional articulation, recognition of inner conflict, and meaning-making. A notable finding involved synchronistic patterns of card repetition and suit clustering. One participant drew the Ten of Wands in all four sessions, an estimated probability of 0.006 percent. The card’s themes of burden, overextension, and exhaustion closely matched the participant’s reported experience of burnout in a demanding new job. Across the full sample, the Cups suit appeared 95 times out of 400 card draws, exceeding the expected frequency of approximately 72 and corresponding to participants’ recurrent themes of grief, emotional vulnerability, longing, and relational pain. These findings suggest that Tarot-assisted psychotherapy may be understood as an archetypal and imaginal method through which symbolic imagery and synchronistic experience can intensify therapeutic reflection. The study does not establish Tarot as an evidence-based treatment for depression or anxiety. Rather, it provides preliminary evidence that structured engagement with symbolic imagery may have clinical and phenomenological value. This research contributes to consciousness studies by examining how archetypal images, meaningful coincidence, symbolic cognition, and subjective meaning may participate in psychological change.

Michael Cole, PhD, is a clinical psychology researcher and Registered Psychological Associate whose work focuses on symbolic, archetypal, and transpersonal approaches to psychotherapy. His dissertation, Archetypes of Transformation: Tarot-Assisted Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety, examined Tarot imagery as a structured tool for reflection, emotional processing, synchronicity, and meaning-making in clinical practice. His interests include Jungian psychology, consciousness studies, imaginal methods, spirituality and psychotherapy, and the integration of symbolic systems into psychologically responsible therapeutic frameworks.