“Dreaming Undreamt Dreams” in Psychological Counseling with Italian Women Who Experienced Intimate Partner Violence: A Phenomenological-Interpretative Analysis of the Psychologists’ Experience

Giorgia Margherita, Gina Troisi and Maria Ilaria Incitti
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Giorgia Margherita: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy
Gina Troisi: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy
Maria Ilaria Incitti: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: In psychological consultations with women who survive Intimate Partner Violence, it is essential to work on elaboration of the trauma as a complex trauma within the context of a relationship. We consider dreams to be a symbolic-representative process, which requires the right psychic, relational and contextual conditions to occur, and that is hindered when trauma is present. The objective of the present study is to investigate the meanings that psychologists working at anti-violence centers attribute to the clinical intervention with women victims of IPV, with a focus on the area of sleep and dreaming in a traumatic experience, and in the clinical work on the trauma. Twelve female psychologists were interviewed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. From the analysis of the interviews, three main themes emerged: (1) Day and night, neither awake nor asleep , (2) Anti Violence Centers: setting as a container of emotion? and (3) dreaming undreamt dreams. The study highlights the importance of dreams as an indicator not only of psychic and mental functioning but also of the psychological relationship within a specific context.

Keywords: intimate partner violence; trauma; post-traumatic dreaming; dreaming; psychological counseling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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