The mother's journey: A holistic model of maternal child loss as a Jungian and feminine depth experience

This theoretical study of child loss focuses on the mother's mourning processes as a profound depth and archetypal experience in the feminine psyche. An alternative approach and theoretical model were sought for understanding the mother's mourning experiences from a Jungian and feminine depth psychology perspective. Traditional theories of bereavement emphasize cognitive, behavioral, and conscious approaches to mourning that understate the importance of the unconscious psyche; this study expands theory of mourning as a profound depth and archetypal experience in the mother's psyche.;In the death of her child, the mother experiences a deep wounding of the individual and maternal self. This research discusses the restoration of the self through connection to the feminine Self as the inner healer. This synthesis of bereavement theory with Jungian and feminine depth psychology resulted in a new model of maternal mourning---the Mother's Journey---that offers the restoration of the self through connection to the feminine Self. This is an inner journey through the realm of the archetypal Mother, whose manifestations represent a transpersonal dimension and healing forces within the collective and unconscious feminine psyche.;In the Mother's Journey, nine themes of mourning represent the embodied psychological and spiritual processes encountered. Each theme presents the individual mourning mother's experience as well as an archetypal Mother Goddess story that offers a symbolic pathway for her inner journey though loss. Archetypal patterns of meaning illustrate the mourning process as stages of healing and integration in the psyche's journey to individuation. The nine themes are Loss (Mother Mary), Sorrow (Demeter), Crossroads (Hecate), Spiritual Quest (Persephone), Loss of Self (Inanna), Shadow (Kali), Continued Bond (Isis), Integration of Loss (the Great Mother), and Growth and Transformation (Tara).;This integral, holistic model for maternal mourning is embodied (i.e., mind, body, and spirit) and acknowledges the feminine principle in the unconscious psyche as a powerful, creative, intuitive pathway for healing the wounded psyche and spirit of the mother. From the trauma of child loss, she moves through the transformation of loss to wholeness and renewal of the feminine Self. Therapeutic implications of this symbolic approach and expressive arts are also explored.