psychodynamic approach - treatment

Question 1

how does the assumption of the unconscious mind apply to dream analysis?

Answer 1

makes the unconscious conscious
- allows people to gain an insight and become aware of these thoughts so they can be treated effectively
- Freud believed the unconscious mind expresses itself through dreams
- dream analysis’ purpose is to decide what is in the unconscious mind as it expresses a ‘story line’

Question 2

how does the tripartite assumption apply to dream therapy?

Answer 2

the id expresses itself in our dreams
- the purpose of our dreams is to act upon our wishes and desires in an acceptable way, rather than allowing them to build up
- for Freud, the ego would usually do this job and defence mechanisms would be in place, but during dreaming, our ego defences are lowered so the id is more free

Question 3

what is the first main component of dream analysis?

Answer 3

1. dreams as a wish fulfilment :
   - a person could freely express their unconscious mind through dreams
   - often, dreams are a way of expressing buried and forbidden urges that can’t be satisfied in the conscious mind
   - the content of a person’s dream can therefore be used to find out what’s in the unconscious mind

Question 4

what is the second main component of dream analysis?

Answer 4

2. the symbolic nature of dreams :
   - because the conscious mind can’t cope with the desires and anxieties of the unconscious mind, they do not appear literally but in symbolic form
   - the story our dreams tell are representations of our unconscious thoughts
   - the manifest content of our dream refers to the actual dream content
   - the latent content is the underlying, real meaning behind the dream

Question 5

what is the third component of dream analysis?

Answer 5

3. dreamwork :
   - the process of transforming the latent content of the dream into the manifest content
   
   • how the unconscious wishes and desires are turned into the dream story
     - Freud identified four processes where this happens : condensation, displacement, symbolisation, secondary revision

Question 6

what is the fourth main component of dream analysis?

Answer 6

4. role of the therapist :
   - the therapist reverses the dreamwork process and decodes the manifest content back to latent content
   - a trusting relationship is important between the client and therapist so they feel comfortable in revealing their dreams
   - the therapist will suggest what the symbols may represnt