Adams, T. (1995). Angel of Madness, Creative Muse: Suicide's Voice and Images (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 1995).
UMI no. 3002388.
In the tradition of heuristic research, I sought to understand more about my experience of surviving the suicide of a loved one by interviewing other survivors. The major themes developed were these: (1) a complex nidus always remains; it literally changes one; (2) certain existential questions arise for survivors; (3) a multitude of feelings are present in grief, (4) specific aspects of therapy are discussed by survivors; (5) images, ideations, and dreams are reported by survivors.
In the research literature, little was reported of suicide survivors' subjective experience, particularly concerning their images, ideations, or metaphors. Jungian psychology postulated that attending to these aspects offers hope of healing. Hillman's archetypal psychology provided the background for reviewing the information gathered in the study.
The results included detailed portraits of three suicide survivors, numerous quotes from all the co-researchers organized by the themes mentioned above, and dream journal entries and commentary written by the researcher during the process, The most significant result was the wide variation in the survivors' experience. Survivors stated that their relationship with the therapist was important, but also that they particularly needed for their individual grieving needs to be respected.
A creative synthesis described metaphorically the essence of the experience of surviving the suicide of a loved one. All the survivors in this study were familiar with Jungian depth psychology. Their ongoing quest to be more conscious of unconscious forces, to honor symbolism, and to give attention to images that appear, especially in dreams, was described as a way to integrate the suicide.
Application of this information can be helpful to survivors, their relatives, and their friends, in addition to therapists and other attending professionals. In future research, heuristic methods with the psyche-centered approach of archetypal psychology offered in this study can be applied to other tragedies.
