Therapeutic help itself in situations of crisis also refers to the cessation of previous ways of adaptation and existing in a state of maladaptation until help in creating new functioning mechanisms is forthcoming. Thus, therapeutic work in a crisis is referenced directly to the three-phase structure of the rite of passage (Laird 1988; Wozniak 2009) that enables to see how functional dimensions are interconnected with structural transformations.
download arnold van gennep rite of passage pdf download
Each of those three distinguished processes has structural and functional elements that are present in symbolic and performative way in the rite of passage concept and the theory of liminality as well as in mental crises that are universal for the life course passages. We have distinguished more structural and more functional properties of the rite of passage and liminality theory regarding the health and mental crises although they are both strictly intertwined (Table 1).
The concepts of rites of passage and the life course clearly illustrate the risk of disruption to the temporal sequence of progression of life experiences and of lingering in a particular stage of the life course or a certain phase of life crisis. The rite of passage concept introduces a structural model for resolving the problem of disrupted sequence of life experiences. The mechanism for this is to introduce a sequence of successive, but isolated phases of the change in progress and to finalize it in the form of engagement: transition to a new state.
Finally, we wish to stress that while the cultural scenarios of the life course change and evolve, their conflictual demands remain current. These include the desire for stability and security and yet the striving for change; biological and social relations; the risk of becoming mired in a transitory crisis situation, and the means of transmitting social support and social meanings. The concept of the rite of passage and the construction of the life course together supply a structural, sequential and processual framework for understanding and processing such challenges and dilemmas that is a main function of rites of passage and some contemporary social institution which try to deal with life crises.
The above text, published by Purdue University Press Purdue University, has been downloaded 22812 times as of 01/30/23. Note: the download counts of the journal's material are since Issue 9.1 (March 2007), since the journal's format in pdf (instead of in html 1999-2007). 2ff7e9595c
Comments