Death of a Parent: Openings at an Ending

Abstract

When I dealt with my mother’s death, I developed a deeper and more complex understanding of adult development from a psychoanalytic perspective. I think we have yet to adequately delineate lifelong development and, in particular, the shifts in representations of our parents as we age. I address the implications and interweaving of these shifts both emerging from and impacting psychoanalytic treatment. A case example of a woman whose representations of her parents significantly expanded after the death of her father is presented.