Abstract
Bereavement dreams provide an important, though seldom mentioned or recognized, component of the grief process. As the unconscious presses for recognition of the pain and extent of the loss, dream material is presented to help the bereft move to a new and integrative life position. Religious symbols present themselves to give the grieving a new sense of themselves as individuals and an expanding view of the world. Grief therapists have generally ignored this important component of the grief process, and as a result, little significant clinical research has been done. A comprehensive picture of bereavement will not be developed until increased attention is given to this important area.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Isabella Taves,Widows Alone (New York: Punk and Wagnalls, 1968), p. 42 ff.: Beatrice Decker,After the Flowers Have Gone, as reported to Gladys Kooiman (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973); Jim Egelson and Janet Frank Egelson,Parents Without Partners (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1961); Marion Langer,Learning to Live as a Widow (New York: Julian Messner, Inc., 1957).
Sigmund Freud, “Mourning and Melancholia,” inCollected Works, trans. Joan Riviere (New York: Basic Books, 1959), 4:152–53.
Ibid., p. 154.
Ibid., p. 167.
Edgar Jackson, “Grief and Religion” inThe Meaning of Death, ed. Herman Feifel (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959), p. 225.
James Hillman,Suicide and the Soul (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), p. 144.
C. G. Jung, “The Soul and Death,” inThe Meaning of Death, ed. Herman Feifel (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959), pp. 10–11.
Ibid., p. 15.
Paul Tillich,The Courage to Be (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1952), pp. 32–36ff.
David K. Switzer,The Minister as Crisis Counselor (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974), p. 146.
Hillman,Suicide, p. 61.
Ibid., p. 75.
Ibid., pp. 23–35.
Ibid., p. 136.
Stanley Krippner and William Hughes, “Dreams and Human Potential”Journal of Humanistic Psychology 10 (Spring 1970):17.
Ibid., p. 2f.
Herzog,Psyche and Death, p. 136.
Avery D. Weisman,On Denying and Dying (New York: Behavioral Publications, 1972), p. 185.
Edgar Jackson,Understanding Grief (New York: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 85.
Switzer,Minister as Crisis Counselor, p. 150.
Glenn R. Mosley, “Coping with Bereavement,” inReligion and Bereavement, ed. Austin H. Kutscher and Lillian G. Kutscher (New York: Health Sciences Publishing Corp., 1972), pp. 131–32.
Ibid., p. 131.
Jackson,Understanding Grief, pp. 163–75.
Ada Campbell Rose,Acquainted with Grief (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972), pp. 54–55.
Ibid., pp. 55–63.
C. G. Jung,Memories, Dreams, Reflections, ed. Aniela Jaffe, trans. Richard Winston and Clara Winston (New York: Pantheon Books, 1961), p. 296.
Ibid.
Jackson,Understanding Grief, p. 175.
Jackson, “Grief and Religion,” pp. 225–31.
Jung,Memories, pp. 295–96ff.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moody, J.H. Dreaming and bereavement. Pastoral Psychol 26, 12–22 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01761192
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01761192