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Examining The Healing Process Through Dreams in Bereavement
Joshua Black, M.A., Anthony Murkar, M.A./PhD (Candidate), and
Jade Black, M.A.
Study Objective: To investigate a woman’s two and a half year dream journal throughout
her grief process which related to the loss of her father.
Method: There were a total of 16 dreams written down immediately upon awakening
and dated. Nine of the dreams had the deceased loved one present in the imagery. The
dreams that had the deceased present in the imagery were scored using Garfield’s themes
(7). Characters, as well as positive and negative dream elements (of all the dreams) were
analyzed using Hall and Van de Castle (24) scoring guidelines. Seasonal changes in dream
frequency for all of the dreams were examined by obtaining the date that each dream was
recorded.
Results: Dream content showed time-dependent changes as dreamer happiness and
appearance of family/relatives (alive and deceased in waking life) increased over time, while
animals decreased over time. Additionally, dream themes changed according to Garfield’s
theory of healthy changes in grief (7). Furthermore, the dreams examined occurred during
specific times that related to the memory of the deceased in a meaningful way, and were
not sporadic throughout the year.
Conclusions: Time-dependent changes were observed in both dream themes and dream
content, which can show the waking day progression through the healing processes in
bereavement. This appears promising in the clinical and applied fields when working with
dreams in relation to grief and bereavement. There is still further need for research in this
field to assist those who support the bereaved. (Sleep and Hypnosis 2014;16(1-2):10-17)
| Keywords: Dreams, dream content, deceased imagery, grief, bereavement |
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