I summon my fantasy world characters and imagined others into dialogue and interaction. As we all converge at an intersection of immersive daydreaming and developmental trauma, ancestors whisper of intergenerational trauma and patriarchal psychiatric discourse. The pathologization of creative responses to trauma is then countered to reveal fantasy as a site of liberation.

I challenge traditional forms of trauma-related fantasy representation and claim a space where the intuitive, imaginative and numinous are welcomed into therapeutic practice and scholarship. This thesis highlights the importance of process-driven research: from intrapsychic wars to synchronicities, and ultimately to a sense of homeness, I invite you as reader to accompany me on what became a reclamation of artistic and spiritual freedom.

challenge to the disenchantment that arises from interlocking systems of oppression

Cambray, J. (2023, October 13-15). Listening to the soul of the world: on the way to re-enchantment [Conference presentation]. 7th Community Psychology festival, Edinburgh, UK.

https://soundcloud.com/agnes-obel-1/sets/aventine-1

I also invite you to keep in mind your own dance/s with fantasy as you read. Finally, it is my hope that, by embracing and sharing my experiences, stories and epiphanies as researcher, I show rather than tell. Therefore, I invite you to come to your own conclusions about the research topic, with the hope that it may resonate and connect with you, and possibly inspire your own epiphanies and insights.

Richardson, L. (2000). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 923-948). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

This immersive fantasy world is further reported to be associated with a host of complex relationships with imagined others and an alternative family life, all underpinned by a strong sense of presence and intense emotionality that might more commonly be associated with everyday relationships (Somer et al., 2016a).

Somer, E., Somer, L., & Jopp, D. S. (2016a). Parallel lives: A phenomenological study of the lived experience of maladaptive daydreaming. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 17(5), 561-576. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1160463

The experience of living with immersive daydreaming has been frequently reported in the research literature and popular media as akin to living a ‘parallel life’ with research suggesting that fantasy life potentially begins to feel more appealing and rewarding than everyday experiences in reality (e.g. Somer, 2018a)

the immersive daydreaming component of MD itself is often reported to be a highly rewarding and pleasurable activity (e.g. Somer, Somer et al., 2019), with distress usually reported in relation to daydreaming extent and functional difficulties (e.g. Soffer-Dudek & Somer, 2018).