SuperPowers — Akesha M. Horton

Overview: A Therapeutic Journey

This framework uses superhero power selection as a projective technique to explore underlying psychological needs, unconscious motivations, and core values. By engaging with this accessible metaphor, you can gain deeper insight into your relationship with power, control, and identity. This section provides a brief introduction to the framework's purpose and benefits.

Theoretical Foundation

Narrative Therapy ▼

Uses storytelling and metaphor to help clients re-author their life narratives and explore alternative identities.

Superhero Therapy & Geek Therapy ▼

Leverages pop culture references and familiar fictional frameworks to make therapy more accessible and engaging, creating psychological safety and facilitating deeper self-exploration.

Positive Psychology ▼

Focuses on character strengths and virtues rather than pathology, encouraging clients to identify and develop their inherent capabilities.

Clinical Applications

Individual therapy sessions
Group therapy discussions
Coaching and self-development workshops
Psychoeducational presentations
Self-reflection exercises for personal growth
Team-building and values clarification activities

The Framework Structure: Your Journey Begins

This section outlines the progressive phases of the Superpower Self-Reflection Framework. You'll start by selecting your power based on a specific scenario, then delve into the psychological connections behind your choice, engage in structured self-inquiry, and finally, consider the implications of power magnitude.

Phase 1: Power Selection and Initial Exploration

The Scenario: Tomorrow you wake up in either the Marvel or DC Universe. Your life remains exactly the same—your family, job, relationships, stressors, finances, and personal history are unchanged. However, you now possess one singular superpower. There are no superhero teams to join, no mentors to guide you, no special equipment, and no second chances. It's just you, your unchanged life circumstances, and the consequences of how you choose to use this power.

Instruction: Take a moment to consider what single superpower you would choose. Don't overthink it—go with your initial instinct. Write down your choice and a brief explanation of why you selected it.

Phase 2: The Power-Psychology Connection Model

Explore how common power selections often correlate with specific psychological themes. Click on a power category below to reveal its associated psychological insights and see its profile on the radar chart. This helps you understand the deeper meanings behind your own power choice.

Select a Power Category to Explore

Click one of the buttons above to see the psychological themes associated with different types of superpowers. This will help you reflect on what your own chosen power might reveal about you.

Phase 3: Structured Self-Inquiry Process

Now, delve deeper into your chosen superpower and its implications for your identity and life. Click on each step to reveal a set of reflective questions designed to uncover underlying needs, values, and potential challenges.

Step 1: Power Justification ▼

• Describe your chosen power in detail. How would it work? What are its limitations?

• What initially attracted you to this specific ability?

Step 2: Life Integration Analysis ▼

• How would you integrate this power into your current daily life?

• What would change? What would remain the same?

• Who would you tell about your power, if anyone? Why or why not?

Step 3: Consequence Exploration ▼

• What are the potential negative consequences of having this power?

• How might it affect your relationships?

• What moral or ethical dilemmas might arise?

Step 4: Underlying Need Identification ▼

• What does your power choice reveal about what you feel you lack in your current life?

• If you could achieve the same outcome without superpowers, what would that look like?

• What real-world skills or resources might provide similar benefits?

Step 5: Values and Motivations Clarification ▼

• What values does your power choice reflect?

• How does this align with or contradict your stated priorities?

• What does this reveal about your relationship with power and responsibility?

Phase 4: The Power Magnitude Exercise

Consider how your relationship with power changes as its scale increases. This exercise helps you reflect on your comfort level with responsibility and influence.

Scenario: Imagine superpowers existed on a spectrum, like winning money. Your initial choice represents winning $25,000—helpful but not life-altering. Now consider the same power at $25 million level—world-changing magnitude.

Reflection Questions:

How does your relationship with the power change as its magnitude increases?
At what point does the power become a burden rather than a gift?
What does your comfort level with different power magnitudes reveal about your relationship with responsibility and influence?

Clinical Insights & Benefits

This section provides additional context for therapists and those interested in the framework's broader applications, outlining implementation guidelines, therapeutic benefits, and important cautions.

Select a tab above to view details.

This section offers insights into how the framework can be used in clinical settings, its advantages, and important considerations.

Case Example: Time Travel & Anxiety

Client presents with anxiety and feelings of helplessness in their career. Chooses "time travel" as their superpower, specifically the ability to go back and make different professional decisions. Through exploration, client identifies patterns of rumination and perfectionism. Therapy focuses on acceptance of past decisions and developing agency in present circumstances, with "time travel" reframed as mindfulness and intentional decision-making.

Conclusion: Growth Through Metaphor

The Superpower Self-Reflection Framework offers a creative, engaging approach to psychological exploration that meets clients in their cultural context while facilitating meaningful self-discovery. By examining the psychology behind power selection, you can gain insight into your deepest needs, values, and aspirations, creating a foundation for therapeutic growth and personal development.

This framework draws inspiration from the work of Dr. Janina Scarlet (Superhero Therapy), Dr. Robin Rosenberg (What Is a Superhero?), and Lawrence Rubin (Using Superheroes in Counseling and Play Therapy), while incorporating established principles from narrative therapy and positive psychology.