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ERIC Number: EJ975002
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0748-1187
EISSN: N/A
Dreams of Deceased Children and Countertransference in the Group Psychotherapy of Bereaved Mothers: Clinical Illustration
Begovac, Branka; Begovac, Ivan
Death Studies, v36 n8 p723-741 2012
This article presents, in the form of a clinical illustration, a therapeutic group of bereaved mothers with special reference to their dreams about their deceased children. The article presents descriptions of the emotions of these mothers and countertransference feelings, a topic that, to our knowledge, has not been frequently studied. The group was small, analytically oriented, slow-open, comprised of women bereaved by the death of a child, and conducted by a female therapist. Over more than three years, the group included 20 members in total. This article describes a number of dreams recorded during a period when the group included seven members. Dreams helped the group members access their emotional pain, helplessness, yearning for a relationship with the deceased, guilt, and feelings of survival guilt. The transference-countertransference relationships were characterized by holding. Countertransference feelings of helplessness predominated. The therapist and the group as a whole contained various emotions, allowing the group members to return to the normal mourning processes from the parallel encouragement of group development and interpersonal relationships.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Croatia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A