The influence of previous life events and developmental experiences on the resolution of grief as developed in psychotherapy.

The author presents an initial brief description of several viewpoints regarding object loss. He develops a case history in the course of describing a psychotherapy that provides a view of the patient experiencing a current loss as having the complicated influences of multiple previous losses for which she has felt guilty and experiences a sense of helplessness. The intensity of the current loss is related to the patient's overdetermined needs for attachment and mastery of past losses. The treatment allows the psychological development to unfold with the patient's associations and dreams. The resolution of grief is dealt with in the context of a short term (three month) psychotherapy which allows some insight into the defense mechanisms (repression) and feelings of guilt associated with loss. The transference manifestations were not emphasized in the treatment because of the defined limited nature of the task.