title: Dreams of deceased children and countertransference in the group psychotherapy of bereaved mothers: clinical illustration.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia. bbegovac@gmail.com
authors.forename: Branka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Begovac
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, University Zagreb, Clinical Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Begovac
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001601:Bereavement; D003379:Countertransference; D004325:Dreams / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome