The memories that won't die and how they help us to live: Past-life therapy as a healing modality for women with breast cancer

This dissertation presents the origins, methodology, findings, and social relevance of a psychological study of the experience of women with breast cancer who undergo past-life therapy. The design of the study included: development of the topic and question, review of the relevant literature, presentation of the research design and methodology, analysis and synthesis of the data, and a summary of the research outcomes and implications. The extensive literature review and analysis revealed no prior research on my specific topic. The study utilized a qualitative design for investigating the phenomenon. Six co-researchers participated individually in two sessions of one and a half to two hours' duration. The first session was a taped, informal, in-depth interview. The second was a guided regression session. With the research question as the focus, the events, thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the co-researchers were solicited. From transcriptions of the tapes, depictions of the experience of the women who had breast cancer and who had undergone a regression session illustrated and animated the themes. The depictions were returned to the co-researchers for corrections, additions, comments, or confirmation of accuracy. Individual portraits which represented both the person who was the experiencer and the phenomenon experienced were constructed. A composite depiction and a creative synthesis developed by the researcher explicated the core themes, the substantive qualities, and the meanings and the essences of the experience being studied. A summary of the outcome and the limitations of the study, societal, clinical, and educational implications of the findings, and suggestions for future research were offered.