Sacred Psychoanalysis - etheses Repository - University of ...

conscious that offers the opportunity for a new story or chapter viewed as a transitional
and/or sacred encounter (Kluzer 2001; Sheldrake 2001).
4. Locating particular kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the other, knowledge of
phenomena and knowledge through reflexivity (McLeod 2001: 3). A particular
contribution of this research is the addition of knowledge of Other as a form of
intersubjective engagement that goes beyond traditional forms of knowing.
These then are the qualitative research constructs that underpin this research, where I adopt
a semi-structured interview approach for gathering data, as well as narrative, thematic and
intersubjective approaches for interpreting this data.
The selection of research subjects
The selection criteria for those interviewed was based on: recognition as a psychoanalyst
through the IPA or a professionally equivalent body; 343 experience of personal analysis and
practice as psychoanalytic therapist; and those who had published in the areas of religion,
spirituality, culture, philosophy and psychoanalysis. Such publications demonstrated a
willingness to engage with others beyond the clinical confines of the analytic consulting
room. All (with one exception) were interviewed in their analytic space where they conduct
their clinical work. This physically and psychically located the psychoanalyst and my
physical presence within this space offering the opportunity for the emergence of
unconscious processes – the understanding and use of which forms the essential paradigm of
psychoanalytic engagement, distinguishing it from any other form of therapeutic work. My
343 This is of significance in the USA where historically psychoanalysts needed to be trained as MDs first.
This changed in the mid-1980s where suitably qualified clinical psychologists could train as analysts, though
not all are recognized by the IPA.
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