Working with dreams in a bereavement therapy group

There is ample theory and research about group therapy, dream work, and bereavement as separate subjects. However, there is little written specifically about utilizing dream work in bereavement therapy groups. Using the Foulksian group analytic model, dreams in one particular bereavement group (for parents of children killed in a terrorist action) were interpreted in such a way as to help members access deep unconscious feelings. This helped facilitate a fuller and more complete mourning process. The analytic, dream interpretive activity also helped overcome resistance in the group-as-a-whole and thereby facilitated movement through group development phases.     

'We are the stuff that dreams are made on': the use of dreams in systemic therapy

This paper considers the place that dream material has occupied in therapy, and particularly family therapy. A rationale will be given for the inclusion of this source of information by systemic therapists. The use of dreams in systemic therapy with individuals, couples and families is described. Dreams are divided into five main categories: those that precipitate therapy, provide hypotheses, as memories, relationship dreams, and those that reflect the process of change. Each category is described and illustrated with relevant clinical material. The paper concludes with a method for working with dreams that is congruent with a systemic perspective applicable to individual, conjoint or family therapy sessions.     

Dreamtelling as a request for containment: three uses of dreams in group therapy

This article is an attempt to develop a coherent, unified, and consistent conceptualization of dreaming and dreamtelling in the clinical setting. Dreams told in a therapeutic setting are challenging events: fantastically rich in content, but often overwhelming in their implications for peoples' relationships. When told in therapy groups, dreams provide additional challenges for all participants. Learning to work with dreams not only enhances understanding of unconscious intrapsychic and group processes, but may also have a strong impact on the therapeutic culture and working relationships in the group. After differentiating dreaming from dreamtelling, I briefly describe three uses of dreams in groups-the classical "informative" and more familiar "formative" uses, and a new perspective that focuses on the "transformative" aspects of a dream told. According to this perspective, a dream told has an interesting past, an important present, and a worthwhile future because of its interpersonal, intersubjective influence on the dreamer-audience relationship.     

The use of children's drawings in multiple family group therapy

This paper describes the advantages, difficulties and techniques of including young children in multiple family group therapy (MFGT). Multiple family group therapy consists of weekly sessions where three or more families meet conjointly with a therapist or cotherapists. Clinical vignettes demonstrate how to use children's drawings with parents to improve family communication. The efficiency of MFGT is compared to family therapy or individual therapy. The effective use of this modality with some children under 10 years is discussed.This research was supported in part by Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration Psychiatry Education Branch Grant MH 13882 from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

The use of dreams in the evaluation of severely disturbed patients

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The process-observer in group therapy

This case study describes the inclusion of a nonverbal, trained process-observer into therapy groups for parents having severely disturbed family systems. The observer remained nonverbal during the sessions while taking notes to be used in writing a one-page clinical summary, which was mailed to each group member. The process-observer was included to improve the clients' initial involvement in dealing with personal problems and as a catalyst for group development. Among the important functions of the written summaries were: reduction of initial anxiety, focusing the group on important issues, enhancement of continuity across sessions, and promoting therapeutic work between sessions. The observer was also valuable in providing feedback to the therapists. Specific guidelines for the use of a process-observer are provided.     

The use of recognition in group decision-making

Goldstein and Gigerenzer (2002) [Models of ecological rationality: The recognition heuristic. Psychological Review, 109 (1), 75-90] found evidence for the use of the recognition heuristic. For example, if an individual recognizes only one of two cities, they tend to infer that the recognized city has a larger population. A prediction that follows is that of the less-is-more effect: Recognizing fewer cities leads, under certain conditions, to more accurate inferences than recognizing more cities. We extend the recognition heuristic to group decision-making by developing majority and lexicographic models of how recognition information is used by groups. We formally show when the less-is-more effect is predicted in groups and we present a study where three-member groups performed the population comparison task. Several aspects of our data indicate that members who can use the recognition heuristic are, not in all but in most cases, more influential in the group decision process than members who cannot use the heuristic. We also observed the less-is-more effect and found that models assuming that members who can use the recognition heuristic are more influential better predict when the effect occurs.     

The dialectical approach in group therapy

A dialectical therapeutic approach has been used in treating individuals and families. Its application in group therapy is described with the aid of several anecdotal examples.     

The dream of dreams

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the therapist's use of the dream and the patient's use of the dream, both inside and outside the formal therapeutic setting.