Reframing(Re-Mythologizing)

the Meaning of Employment Transition

~Brian Collinson Registered Psychotherapist &

Jungian Analyst

Job Loss as a Rite of Passage

Rites of Passage have 3 stages:

● Death to an Old Identity

● Liminal or “In Between” Stage

● Re-Birth or Resurrection

Death to the Old Identity

● “Who I was then, is no more!”

● Grief, sorrow, and MOURNING● What in my old identity needed to die?

Acknowledging the death of the old work identity, andtaking the steps to reallyfeel, and let in the shock andpain of loss.

Liminal or “In Between” Stage

● If at all possible, important to let this time unfold

● Genuinely look at yourself, with compassion

● WIthout pushing, discern: What is trying to emerge?

The “in-between” stage between the loss of the old identity, & the emergence of a new one.

Renewal & Rebirth

● A new, broader sense of identity

● Identity beyond the work role● Affirming my individuality● My own priorities, not those

of the collective