Repairing The Injured Maternal Archetype Through The Twelve-Step Community Of Overeaters Anonymous:

Colby, T. (1997). Repairing The Injured Maternal Archetype Through The Twelve-Step Community Of Overeaters Anonymous: A Model For Women Healing From Compulsive Overeating(Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 1997). UMI no. 3015800

The complex syndrome of compulsive overeating is the most understudied of all the eating disorders. Many women suffering from this disorder go undetected. They are viewed as having a problem with will power and food as compared to a full psychological syndrome. The origins of this 91 disorder are in childhood relationships, particularly with the mother. The maternal archetype is not constellated. Lacking adequate mothering from others and themselves, these women live in the negative pole of the archetypal energies. They call this their disease of compulsive overeating. This dissertation looks at the current research on the syndrome of compulsive overeating including the psychodynamic view, the physical basis of the addiction and the Overeaters Anonymous recovery program. To better understand this syndrome, six women who profess to be healing from the disorder were interviewed and asked to describe the course of their illness and what was helpful for healing. All were participants in the 12-step recovery group, Overeaters Anonymous. Their interviews were analyzed from a phenomenological perspective into five core themes and twenty-two clusters. All the women reported having experienced a spiritual awakening as a result of participating in the program. Through relationships with others in the program, following the principles of the program and attending the meetings, they were mothered into a state of health such as they never had experienced before. Their wounds were nursed and healed. The weight came off and stayed off. The positive pole of the Great Mother archetype was constellated in their psyches and they were able to disengage from the negative pole of it. This dissertation offers a new perspective on the treatment of the eating disorders, particularly on compulsive overeating. It does not just focus on diets, exercise or fat grams, but on an introduction into a more feminine way of being in a world that supports the masculinity of the patriarchy.