Motherhood

Few life experiences challenge us like motherhood. Being a mother will tire us out, fill us with dread, and move us to tears. It will inspire joy, self-doubt, hilarity, contentment, rage, terror, shame, irritation, inadequacy, grief, anxiety, and love. We will probably see ourselves at our very best – and our very worst. Motherhood, with its intense physical and emotional extremes, can be a crucible in which we are tested and altered. In the alchemical vessel of motherhood, the heat is turned up high. Outdated parts of our personality are melted away, and new structures are forged. Being a mother provokes strong emotions including dark feelings of shame, inadequacy, rage, or guilt, as well as intense feelings of love, joy, contentment and fulfillment. Engaging these emotions can help us understand ourselves more deeply and integrate previously unknown parts of ourselves. In this way, the joys and challenges of raising children can be a vital part of the journey to wholeness. Motherhood can be a tremendous opportunity for individuation.

In this panel, Lisa Marchiano, our visiting analyst from Philadelphia, will join three OAJA Jungian analyst-mothers—Jane Smith-Eivemark, Joan Hawkins-Wong, and Suzanne Musters—to explore their experiences in their roles as both analysts and mothers