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Abstract
As natural as it is for a child to mourn the loss of a parent, grief is an isolating and complicated emotion. Conventional psychotherapeutic methods can fail to address the complexities of relationships between the bereaved and the departed, particularly between a living daughter and deceased mother. Through the qualitative methodologies of heuristics and alchemical hermeneutics, this thesis explores the potential complexities an adult daughter may encounter while mourning the loss of her mother. This thesis also shows how mythology, particularly exploration of the myth of Demeter and Persephone in a clinical setting, can help a grieving adult daughter recontextualize bereavement as a necessary stage in the individuation process. In the safety of the therapeutic container, such exploration can help a client connect with the archetypal forces and complexes at play in the mother–daughter relationship. Grief becomes alchemical in nature and serves as the catalyst for a client’s individuation.
