The Use of Dream Interpretation in Psychodynamic Therapy:
A Look at Different Perspectives
Daryl Tilghman
Fielding Graduate University
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Introduction
A dream, by definition, is a sequence of emotions, ideas, images, and sensations that involuntarily occur in the mind at various times; typically during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). Throughout history, dreams have been the cause of much speculation; holding both philosophical and religious interests (Hobson, 2009). Before the days of scientific research, opinions varied regarding dreams, and their usefulness in psychotherapy. Dreams were often viewed as either being divinely inspired or having derived from a dark, evil source. Even in today’s scientifically advanced society; dreams are still not totally understood.
Sigmund Freud, the father and creator of psychoanalysis, developed a therapeutic technique called “free association.” This technique encourages patients to use anything that comes into mind while the session is in progress, and to not withhold any thoughts. This technique is designed to assist patients in understanding what he/she is both thinking and feeling, without receiving any judgment. The assumption is that people experience conflicts between
Dreams are something that occur within our mind as we sleep. They play a crucial role in the mood we carry out through the day or the thoughts that we may have, but have you ever stopped to think about how much dreams truly affect you? As of now, our theories of dreams are very different than the first two theories. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, had a theory that "centered around the notion of repressed longing, the idea that dreaming allows us to sort through unresolved, repressed wishing." Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who had a theory that “dreams were a way of communicating and acquainting yourself with the unconscious.” There are many different theories that describe dreams on all sides of the spectrum. They include wish fulfillment, encoding short-term memories into long-term storage, garbage collection, and solidifying what we've learned. Other theories take more imaginative routes of explanation including that of the
A series of thoughts, images, and sensations that occur during a person’s mind during the time that they sleep is known as a dream. Dreams go way back until the beginning of mankind, even to the BC era during the time that Egyptians and Greeks were the leading force! The Egyptians examined the meanings behind the dreams we have and analyzed the symbols. There are a numerous amount of reasons behind our dreams. People must ask all the time, what is the reasoning behind dreaming? Why do we dream? What is the meaning behind the dream I had? In an average lifetime, approximately six years is spent dreaming. Every single person on this planet dreams and just because one might not remember doing so, it was still done. One might have several dreams occur throughout a normal night of sleep that lasts from about seven to eight hours. Everyone has dreams and each experience is distinctive and personal. Some can contain vivid pictures or memorable illustrations of reality and others can be unreal or abstract. In a way, they all have certain meanings to them and there can be messages hidden that are trying to tell someone something. An abundant amount of people are always curious as to why they dreamed what they did and spend time looking for those answers.
Dreaming is defined by the Barron AP Psychology Book as “the series of storylike images we experience as we sleep (McEntarffer, 2016, p. 113).” Dreams come in all shapes and sizes; some seem random and others may seem to hold more meaning. There are a wide array of dream theories including Freudian theory, information-processing theory, and activation-synthesis theory as described in the aforementioned book. Freud’s perspective emphasizes the unconscious mind and how dreams can reveal repressed memories. Similar to Freud’s theory, the information-processing theory attributes dream content to daily stress as the brain uses dreams to process a day’s events.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept
Psychodynamic Theory is based on the premise that human behaviour and relationships are shaped by conscious and unconscious influences and include factors such as internal processes, personality, motivation and drives, and the importance of childhood experiences.
This research analyzed the effects that traumatic events in life have on our dreams. Two pieces of research were reviewed for this paper. One is a study in which children examine their own dreams and interpret the meanings; the other is about people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who experience nightmares after experiencing emotional trauma. These two journals suggest that significant events and feelings people experience in the past have a direct effect on the content of our dreams.
Dreams have occurred for many years, and still stay a mystery. In both Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, dreams were considered messages from gods that would be interpreted by dream interpreters so people can act according to what the gods wished. However, as generations developed, dream interpretation was ignored and finally revived in the 19th century when many books were published, mostly explaining dreams. Throughout those books, many attitudes were shown based on how the author felt about dream interpretation. Similarly, in two texts, The Mysterious Test, and What’s in a Dream? The History of Dream Interpretation, both authors have similar attitudes toward dream interpretation. Both authors feel that dreams relate to your good actions
An individual’s unconscious mind combines bits and pieces of information and places them together. Dreams are almost always visual. “Forty to fifty percent of dreams have some form of communication present in them and a very small percentage of dreams give the dreamer the ability to use his or her five senses”(Encarta). Dreams allow one to take a closer look into their mind in a quest for self-discovery. In ancient Greece dreams were believed to be messages from the gods. Hippocrates and Aristotle believed that dreams contained physiological information that may be cause of future illnesses. Dreams can be used to solve a number of different types of problems. In The Interpretation of Dreams, by Sigmund Freud he states “As regards the dream, all the troubles of waking life are transferred by it to the sleeping
Dreams have a lengthy record of being a subject for debate and a source of motivation. In ancient Egypt, pharaohs had several interpreters to decipher their dreams as they believed they were messages from the gods (Lincoln, 1935, p.68). The ancient Hebrews believed that their dreams were tied to divine revelations as well. Native American tribes believed that dreams were a connection to their ancestors and used obtaining a vision from a dream as a rite of passage (Tedlock, 1981, p.324). In the present day, every night all across the world, people still experience sequences of imagery encompassed by sensations and emotions while asleep. The average person tends to dream up to seven times a night
The technique of free association comprises of the client talking about anything he or she wants. It does not have to be comprehensible, anything that comes to mind should be said aloud. The therapist intercepts minimally in the client’s flow of thoughts but takes careful notes of everything the client says (Hough,
The humankind throughout history has tried to learn and figure out the meaning of dreaming. The interpretations and true meanings of dreams has expanded and has varied over centuries and cultures. Many of the earlier studies were based on culture’s and the interpretation of dreams, but also used as a form of prophecy, inspiration, and guidance. Many people still believe this such, people today beliefs and theories have opened up to a more vast interpretation, they are made up of; dreams are rare brain activity, dreams allow people to reflect on themselves, or that dreams are too massive to be correctly interpret. Although, not a single theory has been proven to this day, science as of why dreams occur is still a mystery.
We are always trying to decipher our dreams in one way or another. Are our dreams tied to our emotions? Are they triggered by random thoughts? What are the meaning of our dreams or do they not mean anything? This longitudinal study is going to help us answer some of those questions. There have been several studies throughout the years regarding dreams states, but this study is the first published in 2006 that reviews the correlation between dream content and psychological well-being (Pesent & Zadra, 2006). Please follow along as we review this important study.
We are always trying to decipher our dreams in one way or another. Are our dreams tied to our emotions? Are they triggered by random thoughts? What are the meaning of our dreams or do they not mean anything? This longitudinal study is going to help us answer some of those questions. There have been several studies throughout the years regarding dreams states, but this study is the first published in 2006 that reviews the correlation between dream content and psychological well-being (Pesent & Zadra, 2006). Please follow along as we review this important study.
To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.
“Most of us have had (or, inevitably, will have) at least one dream in our lives that stops us in our tracks. Such dreams tell us we’re not who we think we are.” (pg.70) Marc Ian Barasch writes in his essay “What is a Healing Dream?” Barasch explains Healing Dreams, lead us to embrace the contradictions between flesh and spirit, self and other, shadow and light in the name of wholeness. In Hebrew the word “Dream” comes from the verb meaning “to be made healthy and strong.” Healing Dreams reveal dimensions beyond the everyday. Dreams which, if we need them, can guide us toward a greater attitude towards ourselves and others. Barasch approach about Healing Dreams makes you think about what the dream wants from us. The dreams can lead us to reconsider our careers, to find a new loved one, to heal our bodies,