Playing with Dreams: The Introduction of a Third Party into the Transference Dynamic of the Couple

Dreams in couple therapy are expressions of the multiple discontinuous selves of partners and of interpersonal defenses. Two dreams offered during analytic couple therapy illustrate the use of transference and countertransference to observe disturbances in self-cohesion, communication of self-states, and attempts to affectively influence the partner. Dreams transferentially communicate the state of the realtionship, activate a third formation expressing shared pathology, and facilitate the growth of new aspects of the self seeking a more loving bond.