Abstract

Group setting and dynamics have their own specifics that affect dreamwork. The topic of dreams in a group setting is rather complex. While some group analysts find controversy and incompleteness in Foulkes’s concept of dreams, the others interpret certain aspects in a new way, recognizing them in the contemporary context. Knowledge of the activities related to mental processes and their expression contributes to a better understanding of group processes and dreams, not only as intrapsychic but also as intersubjective phenomena. Dreams in a group are impossible to study in isolation from other theoretical concepts of group analysis. This paper provides a brief history of the perception of the primary process and dreams, establishes a link to Foulkes’s theory of group analysis and gives an example of working with dreams in an analytical group.