Skip to Main Content
2
Views
4
CrossRef citations
Altmetric

Article

Shutting Out the Dog: The Value of Nightmares in Recovery from Sexual Abuse

Pages 149-152
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
Translator disclaimer

In working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the author has been struck by the power of dreams and nightmares to convey comprehensive “feeling images” of the client's experience, which can not only express without words the emotional impact of early events but also indicate steps in the process of recovery. Such dreams and nightmares seem to be examples of the “world-image” dreams that Eric Berne (1972) referred to as encapsulating the client's script in a striking scene. Some theory from trauma studies and an example from the author's practice have been selected to illustrate the value of dreams in assisting the recovery of sexual autonomy. While this article refers mainly to women survivors of sexual abuse, the same principles apply to male survivors, some of whom have also shared striking dreams of healing during their therapy.

Additional information

Author information

Margaret Bowater

Margaret Bowater, M.A. (Auckland University), Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), is in private practice as a registered psychotherapist, supervisor, tutor, and dreamwork trainer. She is codirector of the Auckland TA Training Institute, past codirector of the Human Development and Training Institute of New Zealand, and author of Dreams and Visions: Language of the Spirit. She can be reached at 109 Eban Avenue, Hillcrest, North Shore, Auckland 6027, New Zealand; e-mail: .