Trauma and the Animus Complex: Working Toward a Healthy Animus-Self Relationship

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the development of a positive, life-giving animus in a woman who has suffered childhood trauma; when integrated, the animus will assist and support her in speaking the truth of her soul. Drawing on Jungian theories of the animus as the contrasexual aspect of a woman, this research weaves together threads of knowledge about the nature of the animus, how the animus develops, and the role of childhood trauma in both. In animus development, a woman comes into relationship with her Self through personal experience that validates her truth, beauty, and goodness. To accomplish the task of helping the animus grow, women and the clinicians who treat them need a roadmap to explain what is happening, how to move from one stage to another, and how to integrate these shifts into women’s everyday lives. The present study uses heuristic and alchemical hermeneutic methodology in asking the question: How does a woman transform a negative animus, that part of her soul which has been wounded or rejected through early childhood sexual abuse, into a positive and supportive presence in her life? As set forth by Young-Eisendrath and Wiedemann, the stages of animus development include first, Animus as Alien Outsider, second, animus as Father, God, or King, and third, animus as Hero. The fourth and fifth stages are the Restoration of Authority and the Partner Within.