Varieties of 'transitional experience' in psychological theory and ancient Greek thought

Dobson, M. (1999). Varieties of 'transitional experience' in psychological theory and ancient Greek thought (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 1999). UMI no.9962484

This dissertation seeks to amplify contemporary psychoanalytic notions of transitional experience by bringing them into dialogue with ancient Greek mythological texts. It suggests that transitional experience need not only be seen as a developmental phase, but also as a continuous space for fun and creative living. It claims that the Western notion of the autonomous, independent self emerged in classical Greek tragedy and carried the seeds of its failure to thrive in its very conception. This dissertation also engages archaic literature and modern psychological theories with each other in order to yield insight into contemporary views of how to do therapy, both intersubjectively and through living symbols. It seeks to encourage those who read it to think and feel transitional space by immersing them in multiple variations of the languages of this space. It suggests a vision of self-coherence for today's intercommunal world that embraces multiplicity at no risk to health and wholeness. My hope is that this study can stand as a grounding work for classicists who wish to do further work in contemporary psychology as it relates to, classical texts, as well as for psychologists who wish to work further with the notion of symbolic, transformational space as it opens up through ancient Greek poetry and drama and in the therapy room.