“Dream interpretation” is the term used to describe the process of interpreting a dream by a dreamer (client), with the help of a therapist. Psychoanalyst uses this technique in therapy as a means of helping their clients understand themselves better. The initial and most important work on this topic has been done by three psychoanalysts: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), is known as the father of psychology because of his vast contribution to the field of psychology. He was among the first to work extensively with dreams and to use it in therapeutic sessions.
According to Freud, “the interpretation of dreams is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind”. He believed that dreams
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A client needed to work with the therapist to ‘decode’ the dreams and gain access on one’s “repressed” information about self.
Carl Gustav Jung (1875- 1961) was a “Neo- Freudian”. Though he agreed with some parts of Freud’s work, he rejected and modified other portions. Jung disagreed with Freud’s idea that dreams contained hidden meanings that needed to be interpreted, i.e. he rejected the idea of a “manifest content”. Jung formulated a new theory on dreams. He believed dreams were a “natural product of the psyche”, that they did not need interpretation by the therapist as they portrayed the “true nature” of the unconscious.
Dreams had a prospective and a compensatory purpose, i.e. it helped prepare for events to come and it tried to bring about a balance between the conscious and unconscious. Unlike Freud, Jung focused on where the dreams lead and not on where and when it had
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Dreams are based on the dreamer’s attitude towards life. He believed dreams were deceptive. He believed dreams provided a secure environment to overcome one’s limitations without disturbing the dreamers waking life. Also a dream could depict some important aspects about the dreamer, such as how factors like power; acceptance, etc affect the relation between the dreamer and his reality/world.
With time all three theories and therapies have received considerable criticism and have been modified by many. Some have suggested that unlike Frauds’ belief, the “manifest content” is nothing but the representation of the dreamers waking life (Fosshage, 1983, 1987; Garma, 1987; Glucksman, 1988; Glucksman and Warner, 1987; Lippman, 2000; Natterson, 1980, 1993; Schwartz, 1990). Others have simply expanded on Jung’s and Adler’s theories along with providing set parameters for its use in therapy ((Beebe, 1993; Bonime, 1987; Bosnak, 1988; Johnson, 1986; Bird, 2005; Lombardi and Elcock,