Dreams under institutional influence: a relational psychoanalytic case study of trauma

Dreams offer a unique entry point into dissociated affect, internal conflict, and the relational patterns that shape psychic life. This paper presents a relational psychoanalytic case study of a 19-year-old Iranian woman whose dreams became central to the therapeutic process. Her vivid imagery – mermaids, suspended fetuses, and scenes of exposure – reflected the interplay between trauma, shame, and the internalization of institutional forces, including familial authority, religious norms, and educational discipline. Within the therapeutic relationship, collaborative exploration of these dreams facilitated increased symbolization, affect tolerance, and integration of fragmented self-states. The case illustrates how dream work, situated within a trauma-informed and relational framework, can help patients translate unformulated experience into narrative meaning and reclaim psychic agency in the face of institutional and cultural constraint. This study contributes to the current psychoanalytic understanding of dream interpretation, relational trauma, and institutionally informed clinical practice.