This thesis explores the meaning of home and the longing to belong from a psychological perspective. On investigating what it means to be at home in the world, the author connects the return home with a reconnection to Self and community and examines the original disconnection that Western culture perpetuates. Looking at the psychological and alchemical nature of quilt making, the author introduces quilt making as a medium through which to connect to the Self and community, demonstrating how incorporating both can lead to developing a sense of home.

Using a qualitative approach, both artistic-creative and alchemical hermeneutic styles of research are used to explore home as an aspect of human experience, incorporating the author’s dreams, images, and quilt making as material. In addition, the therapeutic aspects of quilting and its clinical applications are explored, looking specifically at quilt groups and their place in the psychotherapeutic setting.