Dreams as portraits of self and group interaction

Dreams presented in group psychotherapy portray different aspects of the dialectic between the group and the individual. A self psychology perspective emphasizes the interplay between the current self-state of the group-as-a-whole and the selfobject needs of the individual. With this focus in mind, the therapist should help the group to deepen its awareness and capacity to reflect on emerging new abilities ("forward edge") which dream imagery conveys and the needed human responsiveness that can actualize these abilities and thus help the individual and the group to break and transform chains of repetition compulsion. We illustrate this approach with two clinical examples.