The marriage of the journey of the hero to the adult child of trauma

Charmant, C. O. (2000). The marriage of the journey of the hero to the adult child of trauma. (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2000). UMI no. 3008499

This study endeavors to unite the myth of the journey of the hero with adult children of trauma. The literature suggests that the hero is both a warrior with a mission and a traveler who yearns to find meaning and purpose in a life fraught with longing and disillusionment. After 17 years of working with and observing this population, I find the trauma experienced from early object relations failure is painfully clear. In spite of this, the histories of adult children of trauma are filled with many heroic efforts to find the elusive missing piece that will bring peace to their wounded souls. They have undergone many departures, initiations, and returns, but the premise is that the initiations were not completed, sanctioned, or understood. Often, tired and in despair when seeking one more avenue by which to initiate, they identified themselves as pathological and misfits because they lacked a framework and societal support that validated their determined journey to find completion. The literature purports that our society lacks meaningful ritual vital for transcendence. A true initiation must be witnessed within the container of community. Thus, hidden rituals, often destructive in nature, are substituted for the longing in the collective psyche. This population must be seen within the context of group and soul of the world because the need for belonging and containment is, to them, a life-or-death matter. Using a new language, an imaginal group container and treatment program is created. This may provide the adult child of trauma with the longed-for container in which to begin healing and completion. Hearing the voice of the soul and eliminating what is blocking its emergence is vital. The psychotherapist and society are urged to reframe the adult child's lonely life struggle to the difficult, but empowering, journey of the hero. Could this better serve the client and the soul of the world?