Synopsis: Commander Riker is kidnapped during an undercover away mission and subjected to drug-induced hallucinations.
This episode begins with Commander William Riker and Lt. Commander Data rehearsing a play written by Dr. Beverly Crusher, which is set in a mental institution. While rehearsing the scene, Riker becomes uncomfortable with how the play is making him feel and seeks out Counselor Deanna Troi.
Troi tells Riker: “Sometimes it’s healthy to explore the darker side of the psyche. Jung called it ‘owning your own shadow.’ . . . Don’t be afraid of your darker side. Have fun with it” (Braga & Conway, 1993). And while Troi has quoted Sigmund Freud and Data has had a holodeck conversation with him in other episodes, this is the one episode that I can recall the teachings of Carl (C. G.) Jung being cited. What Troi is referring to is Jung’s concept of the union of opposites, in which the rational Logos-driven conscious ego acknowledges bits of material that come to its attention through a complex from the Eros-driven unconscious. The idea being that if we incorporate our darker side, or shadow, into our egos, then our ego becomes stronger and the psyche more whole.
Later in “Frame of Mind” when Riker is on the planet Tilonus IV, Dr. Syrus explains a somewhat different process, “reflection therapy”: “You’ll be interacting with aspects of your psyche you’ve never dealt with before and . . . you may be disturbed by what they have to say” (Braga & Conway, 1993). While undergoing this procedure Troi, Lt. Worf, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard appear to Riker, each embodying a different facet of his psyche: Troi – feeling, Worf – action, and Picard – rational logic. The appearance of the three individuals representing different aspects of Riker’s psyche was a physical manifestation of James Hillman’s archetypal psychology, the core concept of that being that we need to honor all the different aspects of our psyche.
What both these depth psychological approaches share is an emphasis on images and messages that come to us from our unconscious through dreams. It is just a bit disheartening that in this episode, the insight that can be gained from analysis was portrayed as a weapon used by an alien upon Riker in an attempt to gather strategic information from him, as opposed to the healing process that it really is.
Reference:
Braga, B. (Writer), & Conway, J. L. (Director). (1993, May 1). Frame of mind (Season 6, Episode 21) [TV series episode]. In M. Piller & R. Berman (Executive Producers), Star trek: The next generation. Paramount Television.
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