Sacred Psychoanalysis - etheses Repository - University of ...

identified similar themes to those identified by me; and the events evoked similar dynamics
to those described in my psychoanalytic intersubjective account. The correspondence of
findings from both events led me to conclude this was a valid qualitative research
methodology that can be included in doctoral research and suitable for further use and
subsequent publication in an appropriate research journal.
This section outlines the evolution of the bricolage of my qualitative research methodology.
Although presented in a developmental section-by-section format constructed to link
together in a logical sequence the reality of this research was less clear at the outset. I
initially planned to do a series of interviews and analyze the data looking for connections or
contradictions between the public and published understanding found in part B and the
private and yet unknown understanding found through the interviews. After several early
interviews and meeting Eigen in person I soon came to realize that my location in the
research process was having a powerful impact on me and that I was having a powerful
impact on the other persons involved. Any methodology I evolved therefore needed to
capture something of this encounter to make sense of the lived experience, always a vital
part of a qualitative research paradigm. Where I fitted in the research was not known before
but became known after. This research evolved three methods for capturing how
contemporary psychoanalysts understand and speak about religion, spirituality and the
sacred in the presence of a researcher identified as a minister of religion.
The semi-structured interviews generated a conscious engagement subjected to a thematic
narrative analysis identifying significant themes within the overarching terms
‘contemporary psychoanalysis’ and ‘religion/spirituality’ arising out of lived experience.
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