Four dimensions of maternal separation within different separation contexts in the mother’s life

Sorokina Ekaterina Nikolaevna

Traditionally, the concept of separation is considered in the context of the process of forming the child's personality and gaining autonomy from the mother. However, the phenomenon of separation is not limited to the child-parent context: the author considers maternal separation an equally significant problem that requires attention of the psychological science, and far from understanding the latter just as the separation of the mother from the child, points out several other important aspects in it. These are different contexts of maternal separation, depending on the object from which the separation occurs. And these are also four dimensions that the separation process goes through: physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual. The article examines each of the dimensions of the separation process in terms of different separation contexts, and also draws conclusions about the relationship and interactions of separation contexts and dimensions.

Keywords:motherhood, mothering, separation, separation process, child-parental separation, child-mother separation, maternal separation, objects of maternal separation, separation context, object of separation, maternal myth, dimensions of maternal separation, physical separation, emotional separation, cognitive separation, spiritual separation.