Depth: Reﬂ Ections on the Challenges and Rewards of Integrating Depth Psychology Into Research Methodology

‘Teaching’ depth: Reﬂ ections on the challenges and rewards of integrating depth psychology into research methodology

+ OKSANA YAKUSHKO PHD*,1 AND ELIZABETH NELSON PHD ,1 *Chair and Research Coordinator, Clinical Psychology Program, Paciﬁ ca Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America; +Dissertation Policy Director, Research Coordinator, Psychotherapy and Somatics Specializations, Depth Psychology Program, Paciﬁ ca Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America

Abstract: This article discusses how students enrolled in graduate level methodology courses can integrate key depth psychological values into the research process. As Coppin and Nelson (2005, p. 101) suggest, inquiry centered on the psyche asks researchers ‘to be fully involved with the opus on every level,’ both personal and archetypal, which ‘makes the work especially meaningful and especially arduous.’ This is equally true when teaching depth research and conducting depth research. To illustrate, we describe the personal challenges and rewards of being instructors and discuss three models, composite case examples, of integrating depth that have emerged in the classroom. In the ﬁ rst model, students begin by actively, rigorously separating their intellectual research pursuits from their depth experiences, either due to prior research education in non-depth oriented settings or due to a lack of understanding of how depth psychology applies to the research process. In the second model, the student chooses a topic based on intellectual appeal or the availability of resources for the study. Though a traditional starting point for most human science research, the student is curious about, and eager to, examine the depth psychological dimensions of their research. In the third model, students readily ﬁ t Romanyshyn’s (2007) idea of ‘wounded researchers’ who are claimed by the topic through their own psychological complexes and seek to pursue its calling through active engagement with the unconscious.

Keywords: teaching, research methods, depth psychology

TEACHING IN DEPTH before any formal research process as such com- ne of the distinguishing features of teach- mences. If ‘attention is the cardinal psychological Oing graduate students in depth psychology virtue’ (Hillman, 1994, p. 119) then what draws is our approach to the choice of research topic. our attention and how it does so – in research as in Identifying the topic is the fi rst and most crucial life – are profoundly psychological questions. decision students face in the research experience. The questions of what and how, at the heart of Moreover, when research is imagined as arising out research formulation, typically are addressed at the of, and in relationship to, dynamic unconscious level of ego. For example, Teddlie and Tashakkori processes – the sine qua non of depth psychology – (2009, p. 113) briefl y discuss the personal reasons how the topic emerges is of foremost importance. to choose a topic, emphasizing career advancement. In well-regarded texts devoted to research design Creswell’s (2009, p. 23) text on qualitative, quanti- and methodology, however, fi nding the topic – or, tative, and mixed-methods research says something to foreshadow our approach to teaching research, similar. ‘Before considering what literature to use in letting the topic fi nd the student – is given scant a project,’ he states, ‘fi rst identify a topic to study attention. For instance in Creswell’s (2013, p. 18) and refl ect on whether it is practical and useful.’ thoughtful, important discussion of philosophical Marshall and Rossman (2011) also emphasize prac- assumptions informing a research project, he says ticality and utility. The fi rst two (of three) consid- philosophy ‘shapes how we formulate our prob- erations when choosing a topic are ‘do-ability,’ that lem and research questions’ but beyond this treats is, feasibility, and ‘should-do ability,’ the potential choosing the topic as a settled matter (pp. 16–19). signifi cance of the study. We agree with the criteria We contend philosophy is revealed when gradu- of practicality and usefulness. The aim to enlarge ate students are musing upon what to study, long the scope of knowledge within a discipline is a par- ticularly important and laudable goal. We respect 1 Correspondence to: oyakushko@pacifi ca.edu; enelson@ the many fi ne graduate programs that give practi- pacifi ca.edu cality and usefulness a personal slant, encouraging

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students to choose a topic that will enhance their McClintock’s comment above suggests, ‘the topics curriculum vitae and further their professional about which we write are emotion-laden’ (Creswell, career. Occasionally they will urge students to court 2013, p. 51). When teaching depth, curiosity and a highly-esteemed, well-published faculty member meaningfulness remain paramount. One’s relation- whose subject area expertise promises to receive ship to the research topic is intimate, sustaining, and future attention and funding. Joining that faculty’s generative. We and our graduate students fi t com- coterie of researchers may accelerate the student’s fortably within the family of qualitative and mixed- own publishing career. There is nothing wrong with methods researchers who ascribe to the idea that these approaches to choosing a topic. From our per- knowledge is socially constructed, arising between spective, there is something missing. researchers and participants (Creswell, 2009; Marshall and Rossman (2011, pp. 4–6) discuss Lincoln & Guba, 2000; Marshall & Rossman, a third consideration in choosing a research topic: 2011). Creswell (2013) sums it up nicely: ‘want-to-do-ability,’ which is the potential of the topic to remain a sustained and sustaining inter- [The researcher’s] culture, gender, history, and experi- est for the researcher. The researcher ‘cares deeply ences shape all aspects of the qualitative project, from their choice of a question to address, to how they col- about the topic’ though such attachment does not lect data, to how they make an interpretation of the render the study ‘naively subjective’ (p. 5). The ele- situation, and to what they expect to obtain from con- ment of desire, or caring, begins to approximate ducting the research. (p. 55) our depth approach. Thus we appreciate the statement by King, Keohane, and Verba (1994, p. 15), However, we take the idea of socially- who argue the ‘personal or idiosyncratic origin’ of constructed knowledge several steps deeper, the research topic ‘constitutes the “real” reason [to imagining the relationship between researcher, conduct the study] … and appropriately so.’ To be topic, texts, and participants as situated with a fair to Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009), mentioned rich, inter-subjective fi eld which, due to the par- earlier, their work on research methodology hints ticipation of unconscious processes, is only partly at the theme of personal meaning. One of the known or knowable. more compelling reasons to engage in a particular study, they say, is the discovery of an interesting BODY, MIND, AND SOUL IN RESEARCH phenomenon (p. 113). They argue that the crite- Whether conducting a fi rst research project or rion of interest, or personal meaningfulness, is most the fi ftieth, researchers acknowledge the impor- powerful at the beginning of one’s academic career tance of their personal history, orientation to which commences with the doctoral dissertation. research, ethics, and political stance (Creswell, Then, ‘ideas may more easily germinate from per- 2013, p. 51). The awareness of the self which one sonal curiosity about meaningful phenomena in the brings to the research topic, or researcher refl exiv- researcher’s life or the lives of others’ (p. 113). Later, ity, is a hallmark of qualitative studies (Creswell, the authors imply, the infl uence of curiosity will 2009; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Marshall & wane. We sincerely hope this is not true. Rather, we Rossman, 2011; Moustakas, 1990; Rossman & want the confession of Nobel-prize-winning cytolo- Rallis, 2003) and is necessary throughout the gist Barbara McClintock to be the mark of the true research process because ‘in qualitative stud- researcher. ‘I was just so interested in what I was ies, the researcher is the instrument’ (Marshall & doing I could hardly wait to get up in the morning Rossman, 2011, p. 112). When teaching depth and get at it,’ she said. ‘One of my friends, a geneti- psychological inquiry, this instrument includes cist, said I was a child, because only children can’t mind, body, and soul, and thus renders refl exiv- wait to get up in the morning to get at what they ity a far more demanding task. Researchers are want to do.’ (quoted in Keller, 1983, p. 70). ‘fully involved with the opus on every level,’ both Regardless of the length of one’s career, and pos- personal and archetypal, which ‘makes the work sibly irrelevant to whether one is working in the especially meaningful and especially arduous’ natural sciences or the human science tradition as (Coppin & Nelson, 2005, p. 101).

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Research, in our view, is not merely an ego [Research] obligates the individual to be centered in task with visible and measurable consequences and on the psyche from the moment the work begins in the world. Though the product, a thesis or until it ends. Yet the life of a creative work often has dissertation, may be printed and bound, shared mysterious beginnings. Moreover, who can know with or shelved, the total outcome crucially includes certainty when it ends? Concepts such as the beginning and the end are fi ctional constructs, ego deci- the personal transformation of the researcher. In sions, or both. People use them because they’re handy, teaching a depth approach to methodology, we they work as part of the story, and because they help take seriously the participation of unconscious create a useful container for the work – not because processes and the unfathomable psyche. James they are literally true. In fact nowhere is the profound Hillman expresses this poetically: depth of inquiry felt so keenly as in the fi rst task the The psychological life of each individual … opens into researcher faces: Developing a preliminary idea of the depth at every step. Our footfalls echo on its vaults topic. (p. 114) below. There is an opening downward within each moment, an unconscious reverberation, like the thin Heeding the call requires skill, patience, and thread of the dream that we awaken with in our hands attention to the many ways that the psyche offers each morning leading back and down into the images hints ‘which can include fl ashes of intuition and of the dark. (1979, pp. 66–67) deep movements of desire’ (p. 115). We have One of our goals is to help dissertation stu- found that some students respond easily and ably dents develop an ear for this echo and attune their to this demand while for others it is simply confus- body–mind to the reverberation created with each ing or frightening. Invariably, students engaged in step of the research process. The hoped-for out- depth psychological research will feel ‘the opening come is summed up nicely by Jung (1950/1966, downward within each moment’ (Hillman, 1979, p. 103) in reference to the German Romantic p. 66) at some stage of the process. An adequate poet Goethe and his exemplary creation, Faust: and creative depth approach to methodology ‘The progress of the work becomes the artist’s fate must help students recognize such moments and and determines his psychology. It is not Goethe view them as profound opportunities. This is the who creates Faust, but Faust who creates Goethe’. challenge facing instructors. In some sense, we When applied to graduate studies, the analogy is must become psychopomps, guides to the souls of clear: The research will create the researcher. our students, and allies to the soul in the research. This reversal of the expected relationship dynamic is so crucial that we speak of depth psy- WOUNDED TEACHERS: ON BEING DEPTH chological research as a vocation, language nor- PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH INSTRUCTORS mally reserved for spiritual experience (Coppin Like all genuine teaching that focuses on educat- & Nelson, 2005; Romanyshyn, 2007). In other ing the whole person, some of the challenges we words, we have extended Edinger’s (1997, p. 8) face are based on our own identity as wounded premise – depth psychotherapy is vocational, teachers, an identity that obligates us to be mind- ‘both a science and an art, both a theory and a ful of the transferential dimensions in our work practice’ – to say that depth research also is voca- with students. In addition, these rewards and tional. For graduate students, formulating and challenges originate in the various contexts, edu- conducting a study is an essentially creative process cational, cultural, social, and historical, that shape that contributes to their individuation, the move our students’ approach to the study of depth psy- toward wholeness. This is only possible when chology. In other words, in any research approach students and their advisors recognize and respect centered on the complex psyche, the instructors’ the irrational factors in the work and understand and the students’ complex web of assumptions, individuation as ‘fi delity to the law of one’s own beliefs, and hopes about what research is and how being’ which irretrievably separates one from to do it must have their place, to say nothing of ‘the herd’ (Jung, 1934/1954, pp. 179–186 [paras the often intense associations to such words as 295–300]). Coppin and Nelson (2005) explain: ‘school,’ ‘education,’ and ‘learning.’

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To illustrate the complexity of this endeavor, I had knowledge of a more holistic perspective we begin with a discussion of the vicissitudes of on research, it was diffi cult to teach it to stu- being a depth psychology research instructor, dents who were, for the most part, unaware of then present three models of integrating depth and uninterested in depth ways of understand- that have emerged in our teaching. In the fi rst ing themselves and the world. My transition to model, the student begins by actively, rigorously Pacifi ca Graduate Institute was a welcome relief, separating her intellectual research pursuits from offering me an opportunity to focus on integra- her depth experiences, then slowly moves toward tion, healing the split in my identity as a research a depth psychological engagement. In the sec- scholar and instructor. ond model, the student chooses a topic based on Thus, for me (Yakushko), teaching often intellectual appeal or the availability of resources involves awareness of this split and offers an invi- for the study and, at the same time, is eager to tation, both for myself and for my students, to examine the depth psychological dimensions heal it. Refl ecting the notion of the ‘wounded of the research. In the third model, students are researcher’ (Elsner, 2009; Romanyshyn, 2007), claimed by the topic through the activation of I see myself as a ‘wounded teacher.’ I too seek psychological complexes. awareness of how my own complexes drive my The terms ‘research’ and ‘science’ represent a teaching, including my approach to understand- particular epistemological perspective emphasizing my students’ work. In addition, as a wounded ing quantitative, rational, and empirical scientifi c teacher I can embrace the presence of psyche worldviews (Coppin & Nelson, 2005; Creswell, when teaching all subjects, including traditional 2002, 2008, 2009, 2013; Denzin & Lincoln, research methods. I can also honor the presence 2005; Elsner, 2009; Romanyshyn, 2007; Teddlie of the independent, self-directed unconscious, & Tashakkori, 2009). Such a perspective is often both personal and collective, that guides students’ seen as being in opposition and superior to the interactions with the material, with me as an relational, emotional, intuitive, embodied, and instructor, and with their own research process. spiritual dimensions of human experience embed- I fi nd this process deeply rewarding and alive: It ded in the complex natural world (Coppin & is about living fully in the world of people (stu- Nelson, 2005; Elsner, 2009). However, any split- dents) and ideas (research approaches and topics) ting of the empirical, measureable, and reductive while remaining present with my own psychic approaches to research from others which are life. Among the challenges of this work is the mindful of complexity results in lack of wholeness. recognition of the various models that guide My (Yakushko) experience with research began student learning. precisely with such splitting. I studied in research Like Dr. Yakushko, my (Nelson’s) early experi- institutions that emphasized empirical approaches ences of research were grounded in a traditional as the exclusive pathway to knowledge. To com- understanding of ontology and epistemology. My plement this knowing, I obtained an additional fi rst research project was an undergraduate hon- graduate diploma in Women and Gender Studies. ors thesis in political science, a comparative study The qualitative and feminist methods employed of Nigeria and the Netherlands, two countries by this program paved the way to questioning that adopted a similar consociational political traditional research methods. My inner work, model to give voice to, and share power among, which included therapy, analysis, and participa- the distinct cultural groups within the nation- tion in training and retreats, further propelled me state. At no point did I discuss with my thesis to explore the signifi cance of the unconscious and advisor why I was drawn to this topic, though in spiritual aspects of research and knowledge. retrospect it is now possible to trace some psycho- My fi rst teaching position at a research uni- logically pertinent themes – themes which have, versity offered me few formal opportunities to over the course of a few decades, presented them- integrate the two approaches: I continued to live selves quite clearly in different guises. Though out a split life as an academician. Even though I was urged to pursue a doctorate in political

298 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPLE RESEARCH APPROACHES Volume 7, Issue 3, December 2013 © eContent Management Pty Ltd Teaching depth science and economics – my double major as an MODEL ONE: RESEARCH AS AN INTELLECTUAL undergraduate – my heart simply wasn’t in it and PURSUIT I eschewed graduate studies for nearly a decade. In the fi rst model, students begin by actively, Then I discovered a love for literature and rigorously separating their intellectual research eagerly followed Eros into this fi eld. However, pursuits from their life outside of the academy. neither my advisors nor I viewed my master’s One of the main impetuses for such separation thesis on the poetry of John Keats as anything is related to students’ prior education in non- other than an intellectual exercise unrelated to depth oriented settings. Typically, such education any deeper archetypal ground. Some part of me stipulated any knowledge worthy of the name is must have known, however, that it was more than objective and impartial, and that an intrusion of merely intellectual. My decision to explore Keats’ the personal into scholarly work is extraneous at (1990) poetry rested on a single haunting qua- best and ultimately detrimental to the outcome train from his Ode on Melancholy and it was suf- of the study. (As discussed earlier many reputable fi cient to inspire a year’s work. researchers, especially those adopting a qualitative Aye in the very Temple of Delight approach and/or espousing feminist and social- constructivist values, have effectively challenged Veil’d Melancholy has her Sovran shrine. this idea.) Some students educated according Though seen of none save him whose tongue to Model One are aware that pure objectivity Can burst joy’s grape against his palate fi ne. (p. 290) belongs to a particular worldview, a perspective If a depth psychologist had been guiding my toward research but not the whole story. They may master’s project, she would describe this quatrain have sought their own depth-oriented therapy or as the call. Keats’ unforgettable poetry nested close analysis, or gained awareness of the unconscious to my heart, repeating again and again like a man- through other means, and thus have a personal tra. The images the quatrain evokes still emerge in interest in, and sympathy for, a depth approach. dream and meditation 20 years later. How could Nonetheless, such students rarely understand how I know that another famous statement from the depth applies to research, a process they separate poet, written in a letter to his brother, would be from their intuitive, emotional, and embodied quoted again and again by the depth psycholo- psychological life ‘that accepts the irrational and gists I had yet to meet? ‘Call this world the vale the incomprehensible simply because it is hap- of soul-making,’ Keats wrote, ‘and you will know pening’ (Jung, 1957/1967, p. 17). the uses of the world’ (p. 473). Teaching students with this academic train- From such experience, moving into research ing often involves inviting them to investigate centered on the soul was an easy and per- their own perceptions of research. To begin with, haps inevitable step. My own research and the texts describing a depth psychological approach research courses I teach continue to be guided to research are helpful, such as Coppin and by Eros on behalf of soul. Research is a funda- Nelson (2005) and Romanyshyn (2007). Other mentally creative activity and I rely heavily on texts, though they never use the phrase ‘depth Jung’s (1950/1966, p. 103) writings about the psychology,’ are depth psychological to the core. creative process to guide my graduate students. These include Moustakas (1990) and Van Manen ‘The progress of the work becomes the artist’s (1990). Students seem eager to hear of our own fate and determines his psychology,’ says Jung, experiences as depth psychological researchers: and this begins with saying ‘yes’ to what seeks my They want to know how we walk our talk. In attention. I have learned faith in psyche’s ways, addition, we use the classroom as an active ima- and know that if I can keep an eye and an ear ginal space to invite students’ associations to the attuned to the dark and sense the reverberation word research. This process brings to the surface of my footfalls in the vaults below, the depths in inherited images, possibly indicating a wound, as the research and the depths in the researcher will well as new and fresh images of what scholarship meet one another. could be. We invite students to explore how their

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own inner work – therapy, analysis, and working recognize the complexity of his own experience with dreams, spiritual practices including medi- and of others’. His analysis, nevertheless, remained tation, yoga, tai chi, or Qi Gong, and creative a private experience, which James did not disclose endeavors such as drawing, painting, singing, or to colleagues at his academic institutions. He dance – can be intimately integrated with their also never attempted to integrate his profound formal doctoral scholarship. Finally, and mindful life-changing learning in therapy to his scholarly of Pacifi ca’s motto anima mundi colendae gratia, work: The two worlds remained separate. James we explore how passionate, heart-felt work stu- continued to believe that his professional life dents are already doing in their communities may had to follow the traditional path, a path which be the source of a research topic. In summary, our appeared to be the only acceptable way to achieve premise is that scholarly research can arise from academic success. This split, however, ultimately and be guided by the students’ psychological, resulted in James’ decision to forgo academia and spiritual, and communal life. pursue clinical training. To illustrate Model One, research as an intel- When James began doctoral studies at a depth- lectual pursuit, consider James, a third year oriented research institution, he was excited doctoral student in clinical psychology with an and relieved. He was eager to study depth clini- emphasis in depth psychology. James received his cal approaches, yet resisted the research classes. bachelors and masters degrees from prestigious Research, he felt, was a ‘necessary evil’ for obtain- research universities emphasizing objective, quan- ing a doctoral degree. He told himself that it tifi able knowledge. He excelled in his studies and would be ‘easier just to do a study’ that replicated his faculty mentors praised him for his abilities his research in his prior training. James’ emotional and ideas. They included James on a number of reaction to research, especially his dissertation grants and publications that approached psychol- work, was characterized by frustration, boredom, ogy and the study of human experience exclu- and grandiosity. James described the dissertation sively from an experimental approach. As a gay as ‘nothing special’ yet persistently felt insecure, man, he found himself involved in several large- believing that his work did not meet the expecta- scale studies on gay men’s mental health. tions of his committee. He hoped that he could Despite this public success, James privately felt ‘just get through the dissertation,’ an academic a lack of connection between his studies and his exercise mostly unrelated to his personal and personal development. He described his life expe- clinical interests. rience as empty, confl icted, and fi lled with sor- In working with James, one of the fi rst steps row. He often berated himself that although he was to invite him to explore the splits he ‘had to possessed more knowledge than most individuals live’ in his prior academic life. When the splits regarding mental health in general and the men- became conscious, James discussed his early tal health of gay men in particular he could not scholarly experience in ways similar to his life as a overcome his struggles. His embarrassment about closeted gay man. These experiences were marked his psychological life, which he described as ‘defi - by a sense of invisibility, lack of belonging, self- cient,’ kept him isolated from others whom he doubt, self-hatred, and devaluation of him and perceived as capable of applying the traditional others. James described this awareness as grieving. behavioral and cognitive strategies to ‘solving’ In the next stage, James practiced some of the personal problems. moves of depth psychological research suggested When he began Jungian analysis, James by Coppin and Nelson (2005) and Romanyshyn acknowledged feeling ‘normal’ for the fi rst time (2007). One move, for instance, an invitation in his life: Embracing the splits embodied in his to actively dialog with images arising from the own experience as well as the splitting he observed unconscious, helped James ground his research around him, including in the academic environ- pursuits. James discovered that he still felt ‘called’ ment. Using his creative imagination, includ- to study the experiences of gay men, but from a ing dreams and art work, he was better able to different perspective. Now he wanted to adopt

300 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPLE RESEARCH APPROACHES Volume 7, Issue 3, December 2013 © eContent Management Pty Ltd Teaching depth a heuristic approach as described by Moustakas his research with a depth sensibility, we cannot (1990) to include autobiographical refl ections, and would not compel him to do so. We may see and also use a phenomenological lens to refl ect great healing possibilities in doing depth research the complexity of gay experience. Rather than for James and for the community his topic serves. disconnecting himself from the ‘research subjects’ Nonetheless, he may refuse the invitation at this and distancing himself from the research topic, time and pursue the familiar and safer path. There James wanted to deeply engage with his topic, his are good and legitimate reasons for such refusal, participants, and his own lived realities. not least of which is that the old ways might shel- Lastly, James was invited to examine what he ter James from the unconscious, which is inde- envisioned as the outcome of his study. He faced pendent, powerful, and always transformative. his ideas regarding the purposes of scholarly writ- Among the rewards of working with students ing: Primarily as an academic achievement and a like James is the continuous invitation to us as contribution to knowledge. While honoring the depth psychological teachers and researchers to importance of his research outcomes for the aca- re-engage with our own depth processes. We also demic and clinical communities, James also dis- enjoy participating in the transformative power of covered the ways in which his research would be the depth-oriented inner work, akin to what the personally transformative, engaging his soul. depth therapist or analyst experiences in working As instructors, we fi nd that working with stu- with clients. Mentoring students on this journey dents like James highlights challenges and rewards reminds of the sacred nature of psyche-centered of teaching depth-oriented research courses. On life: Its imaginative, vast, surprising, and ever- one hand, it may seem easier to encourage such giving presence. students to just get the dissertation done, especially because the inner work of grieving previous MODEL TWO: RESEARCH AS A FUNCTIONAL PURSUIT experiences can take signifi cant amount of emo- Many students drawn to depth psychological tional effort. At moments, as in therapy, when research as a functional pursuit begin with an clients are allowed the time needed to experience intellectual interest much like those we describe genuine grief, teaching within a depth paradigm in Model One. However, these students seek requires patience and awareness of the teach- training in depth psychology precisely because of ers’ own counter-transference. Such reactions the importance of the unconscious to their aca- may reveal themselves in rushing students, in demic experience, and thus are eager to ground encouraging their ego-based, non-depth research their research in the psyche. Students who fi t pursuits, or in praising students for achieve- Model Two may, in fact, be motivated to choose ment when there is scant evidence of meaning- a depth-oriented academic program because ful psychological involvement with the material. of the research values it embodies. However, Possibly the greatest challenge is the tension for such students the inquiry begins with intel- between institutional processes, including clocks, lectual curiosity and seeks a rational or empiri- timelines, and deadlines, and the languid mean- cal explanation for a phenomenon or develops a dering of research centered on the unfathomable theoretical viewpoint. psyche. We need to help students fi nish their Although such an intellectual starting point is research project yet also stand back and allow the understandable, it can diminish the likelihood of process to unfold naturally. ‘The soul’s fertility is recognizing the unconscious factors that contrib- slow and organic, in comparison to the more spir- ute to the topic selection (Coppin & Nelson, 2005; ited ways in which we pursue insight and trans- Elsner, 2009; Romanyshyn, 2007). Unawareness formation,’ says Moore (1994, p. 6). ‘Soul-work, of the underlying psychological factors germane to therefore, demands patience and loyalty, virtues the inquiry often results in a functional approach not in vogue in our fast-changing times.’ and outcome. Though the fi nal work is adequate There is one other challenge for us. Though in every respect it may lack depth, resonance, sub- we may invite a student like James to conduct stance, or complexity. In addition, students often

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feel a vague sense of unease through all phases of the entirely lacked cultural sensitivity. At the next stage research, as though something is missing. From our of the research, while interviewing participants, perspective, it is. As faculty, we may have failed in Maria’s own experience was brought viscerally and our effort to invite students into a depth-oriented visibly forward in such profound ways that it cre- research approach or students may not have been ated tremendous personal tension. Typically, we able or willing to include psyche in the inquiry. have observed that tensions like Maria’s are mani- To illustrate Model Two, we have created a fested in behaviors that our students call procras- composite case of Maria. Maria received her tinating. Rather than asking themselves why it is Masters’ degree from a traditional institution psychologically diffi cult to sit down and transcribe where she encountered faculty who acknowl- the recent interview, or conduct the next one, stu- edged and welcomed non-traditional forms of dents berate themselves on their poor will power or epistemology. She was deeply committed to her inability to cope with multiple life stressors. own analysis. In her work at a community men- In the last stage of Maria’s research, reading and tal health clinic she actively employed depth analyzing the interview transcripts and compos- approaches to treatment. For these reasons, Maria ing the summary and fi ndings, she revisited the sought a doctoral program that emphasized depth participants’ traumatic stories. Again, the research psychological training in all aspects of education, felt profoundly personal. Although Maria told including research and dissertation writing. herself that she should be able to manage her feel- In Maria’s research courses, she immediately ings and rise above it all, the horrifi c narratives focused on an issue that had been ignored in schol- she attempted to analyze dispassionately made her arly literature and clinical practice: The impact feel exposed and raw, stimulating undigested rem- of childhood trauma on Latinas and its analytic nants of her personal trauma. treatment. This was a familiar professional issue As instructors, we invite students like Maria to for Maria since her clinical practice largely served examine their transference to the topic. Though a Latina women with a background of childhood topic may seem ideal for many reasons, as Maria’s trauma. It also was personally relevant since Maria, was, we encourage our students never to under- like many of her analytic patients, was abused as a estimate the truly unfathomable depths of the child and had worked through her experiences in psyche. Through personal therapy or analysis, as Jungian analysis. Thus for both professional and well as an active commitment to active imagina- personal reasons, the research topic seemed to be tion, sand play, dream analysis, art, and move- a natural fi t. From our perspective, it was easy to ment, students become more familiar with the see how Maria’s psyche could have called her to it. underlying dynamics in the study. Romanyshyn’s One of the common occurrences with students (2007) transference dialogs, for instance, are like Maria, who have chosen a topic because it is highly effective in creating an imaginal space to known and familiar, is upwelling of the unknown. foster such awareness. As a result, students are In this model, students are unprepared for the emo- better prepared for the emotional intensity of tional reaction to their intellectual interest. ‘So long the project or they may choose another research as the unconscious is in a dormant condition,’ Jung topic, one less psychologically activating. tells us, ‘it seems as if there were absolutely nothing in this hidden region. Hence we are continu- MODEL THREE: RESEARCH AS AN EMOTIONAL ally surprised when something unknown suddenly PURSUIT appears “from nowhere”’ (1939/1959, p. 279 [para In the third model, students are irresistibly drawn 497]). In such moments, students speak of ‘feeling to a research topic through intense affective blindsided,’ ‘overwhelmed,’ or ‘stunned.’ In Maria’s response that colors the research with the high- review of the literature, for example, she was est possible value. It is as though they cannot not exposed to psychologically activating topics such as conduct research on this topic. The vocation feels stark descriptions of trauma, racism, and sexism, obligatory and inevitable, and they believe they as well as examples of therapeutic treatment that are fully cognizant of its power.

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From one perspective, we often welcome this look beyond it to environmental, sociocultural, kind of student because it happily undermines the political, or ancestral factors. During one exercise, reputation of traditional research as dull, plod- Jennifer and her classmates were invited to read ding, and of little or no enduring personal worth their work critically to identify unfounded or unex- or meaning. For students with a strong and rec- plored opinions and to articulate any underlying, ognized emotional attachment to the research, hidden assumptions in the writing. This was very their dissertation or thesis is rarely a checklist item diffi cult for Jennifer to do. It was as though she was as it was described in Model One. From another deaf to the tone of certainty in her own writing. perspective, however, guiding such students can Students such as Jennifer illustrate what Whyte be challenging because they may not fully rec- (1978, p. 8) described as the great danger of our ognize the emotionally dazzling effect of such a age: ‘total obsession with partial ideas.’ When they strong vocation. The possibility of infl ation is real, are unable or resistant to seeing or hearing how and it can lead to theoretical narrow-mindedness their approach to the research is dominated by a that veers dangerously close to fundamentalism. single view, we use techniques of active imagina- Students who view research as an emotional pur- tion to help them identify who is speaking in this suit may be incapable of the small, prudent moves moment. This archetypal approach to research that depth psychological inquiry, and all thought- allows multiple persons or fi gures to emerge in ful research, depends upon. In this regard, we differentiated form so that a student like Jennifer appreciate Jung’s (1948/1981, p. 297, [para 569]) can witness who or what is dominating her con- defi nition of research: ‘The purpose of research sciousness. This helps make a psychological spa- is not to imagine that one possesses the theory ciousness in which other voices can be heard. As which alone is right, but, doubting all theories, to Jung (1957/1967) pointed out, there are various approach gradually nearer to the truth.’ As instruc- techniques of active imagination suitable for dif- tors, it is important for us to remember that depth ferent kinds of learners (and researchers). psychological inquiry is one of many approaches The way of getting at the fantasies varies with individ- to understanding complex life, not the only one. uals. For many people, it is easiest to write them down; To illustrate Model Three, we have created others visualize them, and others again draw or paint the composite case of Jennifer. When Jennifer them with or without visualization. If there is a high began her fi rst year of coursework, she announced degree of conscious cramp, often only the hands are that she already knew her dissertation topic: The capable of fantasy; they model or draw fi gures that are trauma of growing up with addicted parents. She sometimes quiet foreign to the conscious mind. (p. 17) was eager to begin her research and sought ways to What Jung calls ‘conscious cramp’ may also be write on some aspect of addiction in her course- described, for some researchers, as a sort of intel- work. In fact, Jennifer had published a few essays lectual tyranny and a tyranny of the intellect. Even in professional journals on the topic and was look- a student like Jennifer, pursuing graduate work in ing ahead beyond the dissertation, to the moment depth psychology, may not realize just how deep she could transform it into public seminars, lec- the unconscious is, or how surprising. tures, and a mainstream book. Jennifer was certain Our students, and others with extensive that this work was her vocation; earning a doctor- knowledge of depth psychology and an impressive ate would enhance her credibility as an expert. amount of experience as analysts, are frequently In the early drafts of the dissertation con- surprised at how active psyche’s images are. We cept Jennifer submitted, the introduction to her have observed, in our own research and in the topic was dominated by sweeping knowledge classroom, the truth of Jung’s statement about claims about addiction and trauma. She viewed active imagination as theater: the parent-addict as persecutory – the one who As a rule there is a marked tendency simply to enjoy wounds – and the children as victims – the ones this interior entertainment and to leave it at that. who are wounded. Jennifer focused her attention Then, of course, there is no real progress but only end- on the parent–child dyad and saw little need to less variations on the same theme, which is not the

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point of the exercise at all. What is enacted on the may be a legacy millennia in the making. Jung stage still remains a background process; it does not (1961/1989, p. 233) believed this of his own move the observer in any way, and the less it moves life’s work. ‘It has always seemed to me,’ he says him the smaller will be the cathartic effect of this pri- in his autobiography, ‘that I had to answer ques- vate theater. The piece that is being played does not want tions which fate had posed to my forefathers, and merely to be watched impartially, it wants to compel participation. (1956/1970, p. 496; emphasis added) which had not yet been answered, or as if I had to complete, or perhaps continue, things which previ- The result of Jennifer’s active imagination ous ages had left unfi nished.’ Romanyshyn (2007, upset her. The fi gure which emerged in the form p. 113) adds that the vocational nature of research of a pen-and-ink drawing on a scrap of binder is suggested by the word itself. ‘It is research, a paper looked dark, forbidding, and malevolent. searching again for what has already made its claim She put it away in a desk drawer. upon us and is making its claim upon the future.’ Eventually, Jennifer agreed to take up the image Rather than fi nding a topic, researchers may need again and continued to work with it throughout sub- to fi nd the courage to say ‘yes’ to a topic that has sequent stages of her dissertation research. She began already found them. to see its relevance as the strident voice of authority Vocational research – inquiry that touches and who, on the page, insisted it was right. Over time moves the deepest levels of being – will continue Jennifer also recognized the authoritarian fi gure as to be demanding through the life of the project. As an inner persecutor tyrannizing her own psyche. It we have attempted to show in our three compos- was a surprising and emotionally intense experience ite case examples, a depth psychological approach that challenged her to view the traumatic wound- can enrich the research process regardless of the ing of children by addicted parents in new ways. students’ initial attitude toward, and understand- Though it was uncomfortable to face some of her ing of, the complexities of their relationship to own rigidly-held beliefs, ultimately Jennifer was able the topic. Depth psychological researchers aim to become a more thoughtful critical reader of her for a complete, whole, complex understanding research and therefore a more thoughtful researcher. but know that it will always exceed their grasp. She also became more thoughtful about trauma in In the process, however, they may sharpen their the lives of her psychotherapy patients and devel- ability to scent the subtle, fl eeting, and evanes- oped a fl exible capacity to feel, hear, and imagine the cent thought, and track the novel idea that makes many sides of complex human wounding. research exciting and worthwhile. As Coppin and Nelson (2005, p. 39) put it, ‘it is this gap between REFLECTIONS ON COMPLEX RESEARCH: SOUNDING reach and grasp that stimulates human creativity, THE DEPTHS fosters enchantment with the yet-to-be known, We imagine that some members of the academy and inspires the art of inquiry.’ will continue the tradition of post-positivism that advocates a cool distance between researcher and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT research. It is, after all, a simpler matter to engage We would like to acknowledge our students and only the intellect in the process of discovery. Yet colleagues in teaching and learning together with there will always be a small number of students who us in depth. will fi nd such an approach stultifying. For them, the risks of centering their research on the unfathom- REFERENCES able psyche will be worthwhile. They often enjoy Coppin, J., & Nelson, E. (2005). The art of inquiry: A musing about the origins of their research when we depth psychological perspective. Woodstock, CT: Spring Publications. turn the question of beginnings in a provocative Creswell, J. (2002). Research design: Qualitative, quan- direction by asking, ‘When did your soul say yes to titative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). this topic?’ Such a vocational approach is founded Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. on Jung’s (1939/1959, pp. 279–280 [paras 499– Creswell, J. (2008). Research design: Qualitative, quan- 500]) core idea that the mind as well as the body titative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). has an evolutionary history; the work we undertake Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantita- Jung, C. G. (1967). Commentary on ‘The secret of the golden tive, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, fl ower’. In R. F. C. Hull (Trans.), The collected works of CA: Sage. C. G. Jung (2nd ed., Vol. 13, pp. 1–55). Princeton, NJ: Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research Princeton University Press (Original work published 1957). design: Choosing among fi ve approaches (3rd ed.). Jung, C. G. (1981). On the nature of dreams. In R. F. C. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hull (Trans.), The collected works of C. G. Jung (2nd Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2005). The handbook of ed., Vol. 8, pp. 281–297). Princeton, NJ: Princeton qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, University Press (Original work published 1948). CA: Sage. Keats, J. (1990). In E. Cook (Ed.), John Keats, Oxford, Denzin, Y., & Lincoln, Y. (2011). Introduction: The England: Oxford University Press. discipline and practice of qualitative research. In Keller, E. (1983). A feeling for the organism: The life and work Y. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of Barbara McClintock. New York, NY: WH Freeman. of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 1–19). Thousand King, G., Keohane, R., & Verba, S. (1994). Designing Oaks, CA: Sage. social inquiry: Scientifi c inference in qualitative Edinger, E. (1997). The vocation of depth psychother- research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. apy. Psychological Perspectives, 35(1), 8–22. Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies, Elsner, T. (2009). Following the footsteps of the soul in contradictions, and emerging confl uences. In N. Denzin research. Psychological Perspectives, 52(1), 24–36. & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research Hillman, J. (1979). The dream and the underworld. (2nd ed., pp. 163–188). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. New York, NY: Harper & Row. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2011). Designing qualita- Hillman, J. (1994). Insearch (2nd Rev. ed.). Woodstock, tive research (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. CT: Spring Publications. Moore, T. (1994). Soul mates. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Jung, C. (1966). Psychology and literature. In R. F. C. Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research. Newbury Park, Hull (Trans.), The spirit in man, art and literature, CA: Sage. the collected works of C. G. Jung (2nd ed., Vol. 15, Romanyshyn, R. D. (2007). The wounded researcher: pp. 84–105). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Research with soul in mind. New Orleans, LA: Spring Press (Original work published 1950). Journal Books. Jung, C. (1989). In A. Jaffe (Ed.), Memories, dreams, Rossman, G., & Rallis, S. (2003). Learning in the fi eld: refl ections. New York, NY: Vintage (Original work An introduction to qualitative research (2nd ed.). published 1961). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Jung, C. G. (1954). The development of personal- Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of ity. In R. F. C. Hull (Trans.), The collected works mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and of C. G. Jung (Vol. 17, pp. 167–186). Princeton, qualitative approaches in the social and behavioral sci- NJ: Princeton University Press (Original work ences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. published 1934). Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience. Jung, C. G. (1959). Conscious, unconscious, and indi- New York, NY: State University of New York Press. viduation. In R. F. C. Hull (Trans.), Archetypes of the Whyte, L. (1978). The unconscious before Freud. collective unconscious, the collected works of C. G. Jung New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. (Vol. 9, i, pp. 275–297). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (Original work published 1939). Received 03 March 2013 Accepted 30 October 2013 ANNOUNCING LONGEVITY: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH, ILLNESS AND SERVICE PROVISION A special issue of Health Sociology Review – Volume 23 Issue 1 – ii + 126 pages – ISBN 978-1-921980-25-1 – March 2014 Guest Editors: Pauline Savy (La Trobe University, Australia), Anne-Maree Sawyer (La Trobe University, Australia) and Jeni Warburton (La Trobe University, Australia) • Ageing and health of particular groups eg Indigenous, migrant, • Dementia gendered groups, rural and remote populations • Living with common and chronic conditions including psychiatric conditions • Evaluation of specifi c care provision and levels eg acute hospital care, • Family relationships in old age and ill health community care, long-term care and health promotion programs • Professionalisation and specialisation, for example, changing role • The ageing body, decline, dying and death boundaries in aged care, workforce situations and impacts • Health and illness in the oldest generation • Social, structural factors that promote or oppose longevity and • Ageing and medicalisation wellness http://hsr.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/23/issue/1/marketing/ www.e-contentmanagement.com

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