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In this case commentary, I offered my musings related to what I imagined thinking about if I encountered Colette in psychotherapy, highlighting potential interpersonal dynamics that could infuse the treatment relationship. I explored several clinical issues, including themes of race, repetition of abuse, enactments, working with trauma, and other unconscious dynamics at play in the treatment of traumatized patients. These thoughts were provided from the perspective of a young, White therapist who practices from a relational position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of transference and countertransference has changed a great deal since Freud introduced the terms. A case example indicates one way the patient's and clinician's past experiences and expectations interact to create a here and now relationship that is highly influenced by transference/countertransference. The understanding of both terms as aspects of a mutually constituted interaction has practice implications for the treatment of adult survivors of abuse who have a somatoform disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the usefulness of attachment theory in working with adults in psychotherapy. There are four classifications of attachment status in adults: secure attachment, and three types of insecure attachment: dismissing, preoccupied, and disorganized. These categories do not conform to standard diagnostic entities. I discuss examples of the three insecure attachment categories and the likely transference and countertransference configurations that may occur in each category. These categories provide an additional way for therapists to understand and to respond to the needs of their clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daydreams, long recognized as containers of unarticulated, unrecognized and/or unconscious material, can be subtle but powerful tools for introducing clients to the process of exploring internal experience. They offer a crucial, relatively non-threatening path to self-understanding for individuals who come into therapy without the capacity for introspection, tolerance of affect, and sense of agency that are requisite for the process of psychodynamic psychotherapy. In part because they are often available to conscious awareness, they are an amazingly useful medium through which to help many of these clients gain access to their internal world. They encourage the development of the capacity to symbolize, to play, and eventually to embrace the "potential space" of internal experience that makes it possible to have a rich and fulfilling life in the "external" world. In this article, the author introduces the use of daydreams in psychodynamic psychotherapy, focusing specifically on three specific areas: resistance, somatization, and transference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]