MAINM COMP DREAM ANAYLSIS

• Freud: 'Dreams are "the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind"'
• Dream analysis


  The process of assigning meanings to dreams
• Step 1 - DIARY

  1. The dreamer recalls their dream to the therapist

  2. What the dreamer remembers is referred to as the manifest content

  3. Recording all dreams in a diary may help to find meaning within

  4. Keeping a dream journal and priming ourselves to remember dreams is helpful

  5. When we wake up, we should try to remain in the atmosphere of the dream and write down our thoughts immediately
• Latent content


  The underlying meaning of the dream
• Manifest content


  What the dreamer remembers of the dream
• Step 2 - DREAM FULFILMENT

  1. Dreamwork involves interpreting the dream to uncover its latent content or underlying meaning

  2. Dreams represent unconscious wishes unfulfilled in waking life, serving to protect the sleeper while also expressing these hidden desires (wish fulfilment)
• Step 3 - MAIN PROCESSES

  1. Condensation - Many elements of the latent content are condensed into a single image or symbol

  2. Displacement - Significant aspects of the latent content are represented as seemingly insignificant features

  3. Representation - Abstract thoughts are translated into visual images

  4. Symbolism - Meaningful elements are replaced by symbols

  5. Elaboration - The unconscious organises the dream's images into a coherent narrative
• Step 4 - REVERSAL OF DREAMWORK

  1. The therapist decodes dreams by reversing the process, changing from manifest to latent content

  2. Considering the client's context, they offer multiple interpretations

  3. Dream analysis is a means to access the unconscious mind

  4. By bringing these to conscious awareness, issues can be dealt with and unconscious conflicts can be resolved
• Dream analysis as a form of therapy aims to identify the root causes of mental health issues by analysing the unconscious meaning of dreams and developing strategies to deal with past trauma
• Freud believed that dreams were a way for our unconscious mind to communicate with us about repressed desires or fears.
•  Dream analysis isn't the ultimate goal but a means to access the unconscious mind. By bringing these to conscious awareness, (by gaining insight) issues can be dealt with, and unconscious conflicts can be resolved
• Freud posited that dreams represent unconscious wishes unfulfilled in waking life, serving to protect the sleeper (primary process thought) while also expressing these hidden desires (wish fulfilment).
•  Overtime patterns emerge to tell us about our waking life and inner self.