Closing The Circle

This piece is one in a series of essays by Dr. Bernard Bail documenting his clinical work. It delves into the intricate dynamics of familial relationships and their psychological impact, presenting a case study about a patient’s troubled maternal bond illuminated through dream analysis.

In 2015, on Valentine’s Day, people are putting their thoughts and feelings about their mothers online. The commentary ranged widely, and the patient’s prior written reflections on maternal relationships form the backdrop for the current therapeutic work.

The Dream

The patient dreams he is swimming in a pond containing a dead carcass of an insect or animal the size of a mouse, with a parasite emerging from it. The patient removes the carcass while his wife questions whether it was alive.

Discussion

Dr. Bail interprets the dead creature as representing his mother’s embryonic feeling self, theorizing the mother could not emotionally sustain pregnancy or motherhood due to her own maternal deprivation and grandmother’s emotional unavailability. He notes the patient’s uncle’s suicide, linking it to absent familial love.

The dream is framed as evidence the patient has achieved psychological closure regarding his mother, though ongoing “working through” of residual issues remains a standard part of the therapeutic process.

Copyright © Bernard W. Bail, M.D., August 2019