Dream Analysis - Psychodynamic Therapy

Question 1

What is the aim of dream Analysis ?

Answer 1

• to reveal the unconscious, to bring the unconscious to the conscious
• to uncover the latent content of a dream by examining the manifest content
• to offer insights that allow psychological issues to be resolved

Question 2

What are the 3 components of dream analysis?

Answer 2

• dreams as a wish fulfilment
• symbolic nature of dreams
• dreamwork
• the role of the therapist

Question 3

Dreams as a wish fulfilment

Answer 3

• freud believed that all dreams were the unconscious fulfilment of wishes that could not be satisfied in the conscious mind.
• dreams protect the sleeper and allow some expressions of the buried urges, desires
• for example, a dream of killing someone could mean guilt or avoidance because they want to kill a part of themselves (personality) they see in others.

Question 4

What are some examples of dreams as wish fulfilment?

Answer 4

• babies
• money
• killing someone ( guilt/avoiding because you want to kill a part of your personality)
• sex (forbidden romances)

Question 5

Symbolic nature of dreams

Answer 5

• dreams allow us to fulfill our unconscious wishes and desires
• but the actual content of our dreams is often expressed symbolically
• if we dreamed what we desire it may cause anxiety to the conscious mind
• therefore dreams are filtered through layers of symbolism, allowing us to have our wish fulfilment, but still protecting our conscious
• there’s two contents that relate to this : latent and manifest content
• manifest content is was we actually recall
• latent content is the hidden meaning of the dream e.g. the underlying wish, desire or emotion

Question 6

Dreamwork

Answer 6

• the latent content of the dream is transformed into the manifest content of the dream by the process of dreamwork
• there are 5 categories of dreamwork
• condensation (condensing ideas into one because one dream may stand for several ideas)
• displacement (the emotional significance of the dream object which is attached to another object or person)
• secondary elaboration ( unconscious mind collects all images to form a logical story)
• symbolism (the symbol replaces the object)
• representation ( thoughts translated into visual images)

Question 7

The role of the therapist

Answer 7

• the interpretation of the dream is not the final aim of dream analysis, this is just done by therapist to access the unconscious
• therefore the role f the therapist is to uncover the latent content of the dream by examining the manifest content
• the patient talks to the therapist about the manifest content of the dream and the therapist will help guide the patient to uncovering the latent
• the final decision of the meaning of the dream is chosen by the patient

Question 8

Methodological issues

Answer 8

S- methodological issues
E- pts are wired up with various electrodes so pts would be put in an unfamiliar environment (sleep laboratories)
E- for example the set up of PET scans or electrodes isn’t realistic and would be concluded that it isn’t similar to a normal sleep routine therefore questioning the ecological validity of the research
W- this will therefore disrupt the normal bio functions such as secreation of hormones making the findings of the study less valid and acting as a confounding variable

Question 9

Research to support

Answer 9

S- research has provided support
E- Solms used PET scans to highlight regions of the brain that were active during dreaming. The results showed that the rational part of the brain is inactive during REM sleep whereas the centres concerned with memory and motivation are active.
E- this shows that the ego becomes suspended whilst the ID is given free rein
W- therefore support Freuds notion of condensation and study of the tripartite personality provides basis of how our ego defences are low allowing the id to allow desires.

Question 10

Ethical issues - therapist client relationship

Answer 10

S- there could be a potential power imbalance
E- the therapist takes the expert role, offering the patient insight into their unconscious and the patient is reliant on the therapist in making progress
E- this may create a power imbalance and can lead to over- dependence on the therapist, especially from people suffering depression
- this is therefore a weakness of dream analysis because doing this with vulnerable people may make it harder to reach the full aims of the therapy

Question 11

Emotional harm

Answer 11

S- dream analysis can cause distress of the insight leading to emotional harm
E- for example, a therapist can guide a painful memory back to the conscious mind .
E- such exercise inevitably leads to forced termination which leaves the clients feeling deserted and emotionally unstable
W- this is a weakness because this may provoke a range of negative reactions from the client leading to emotional harm

Question 12

Subjective interpretation

Answer 12

S- interpretation of the manifest relies on the subjective interpretation from the therapist
E- for example the dream being interpretive is subjective and the dream report may not be reliable
E- this suggests that dream analysis is a highly subjective process, once again questioning its validity
W- this is a weakness because it goes against the objective scientific aims of psychology