The “Family Unconscious”and the “Family Instinct” as reflected in the bibliotherapist work

Abstract

The family serves as a common thematic thread linking mental health therapy and literature. This connection underscores the importance of exploring familial themes within bibliotherapy, a therapeutic approach that integrates literary works into psychological treatment. Literature, by portraying various aspects of family life, provides valuable insights into familial dynamics and unconscious processes. By examining how different literary genres depict family relationships and norms, bibliotherapy can enhance our understanding of these dynamics and their impact on 1individuals. This approach allows for a deeper exploration of how family themes are reflected in literature and how they can be utilized to address psychological issues in therapeutic contexts.

The article is divided into two main sections: the theoretical discussion of bibliotherapy and the family, and a practical case study of a decade-long treatment of a mentally ill, childless Holocaust survivor, referred to as Yitzhak Meir. This case, submitted as a case study in a competition for treatment descriptions at the Tamir Institute, is analyzed alongside David Grossman’s novel One Horse Walks into a Bar. This analysis illustrates how working with a person's life narrative and literary texts can aid in emotional processing and therapy.

The paper argues that both literature and psychoanalysis explore family themes, though literature often does so indirectly. Literary works offer reflections of cultural and familial unconsciousness, analogous to the therapeutic process of dream interpretation. Psychoanalysis and literature are interwoven, with psychoanalytic concepts frequently derived from literary phenomena.