| Abstract: | This paper describes the child patient's communication to the clinician of cherished hopes and ambitions—the child's  dreams. The clinician performs important holding functions by catching and keeping the child patient's dreams intact for him or her over time. The paper also demonstrates essential mirroring selfobject functions the clinician performs by recognizing and acknowledging the child's dreams in the therapeutic relationship. Dreams are understood as a component of development. The therapist's dreamcatcher role bolsters the child's tentative capacity to be interested in himself/herself and the outside world. Three clinical vignettes are used to highlight the role of the clinician in creating an empathic milieu by acknowledging, understanding, validating and preserving the dreams. |
