Epiphanies An Existential Inquiry

Abstract

The purpose of this inquiry is to explore the nature of rapid transformations as conceptualised by the term epiphany, in adult survivors of childhood abuse. In order to provide a philosophical interpretation of this phenomenon, the participants’ epiphanic experiences will be explored from a self-identity existential perspective. A narrative approach to methodology was employed to collect and analyse the participants’ epiphanies from which two main interpretations were drawn. Firstly, an epiphany is a profound illumination of the inauthentic and authentic modes of self- identity; and secondly, an epiphany is the result of an accumulation of personal processes that take place outside of conscious knowing, that suddenly and abruptly burst into awareness, and which are appropriated as meaningful and life changing. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of epiphanies for the practice of counselling and psychotherapy.