Abstract:

This study explored the experience of women with a history of mother-daughter conflict , whose self-guided writing process (SGWP) of journal, letter, and poetry writing played a significant part in their lives. The study viewed the personal self (not the ego) in relationship to the transpersonal self , a transcendent self-sense synonymous with Jung's Self . The term, archetypal , referred to the deep psychic structures that consistently generate universal mythological images. Twenty-four interviews conducted with 12 coresearchers (22-53 years old, 83% Caucasian, 8% Filipina, 8% bi-ethnic) provided the data for answering 2 questions: (a) How do women with a history of mother-daughter conflict use the SGWP? and (b) What is the relationship between a woman's SGWP and her particular experience of mother-daughter conflict? Thematic content analysis grounded in the heuristic phases of initial engagement, immersion, incubation, explication, and creative synthesis facilitated the presentation of narratives, including individual depictions, exemplar portraits, and a composite depiction. The creative synthesis of spontaneously created sand trays symbolized the primary researcher's transformed experience of mother-daughter conflict. The study suggested that the dual-sided nature of archetypal themes in myths (Demeter-Persephone, Twin Scapegoats) and fairytales (Sleeping Beauty, Frau Holle) may provide insight into the nature of mother-daughter conflict. The study used object relations theory to explore the effects of inadequate maternal mirroring upon the daughter's ability to express her own needs. The study's findings showed that coresearchers used the SGWP to express emotions and increase self-understanding. Even when interpersonal resolution of mother-daughter conflict was impossible, coresearchers who used a SGWP showed great resiliency in coping with personal and environmental conflict. The study suggested that the SGWP may support communication between the personal self and transpersonal self. The unexpected degree to which mother-daughter conflict was embedded in the larger context of family and cultural systems suggested the need for further study.