The Psychodynamic Approach - Dream Analysis Flashcards

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1
Q

What causes abnormality?
- Freud argued that…
- Therefore, abnormal behaviours…
- For example…

A
  • Freud argued that all human behaviour is caused by the unconscious mind
  • Therefore, abnormal behaviours such as depression or anxiety are caused by abnormality that exists within the unconscious mind
  • For example, the distressing demands of the id or traumatic childhood experiences which have been locked away in the unconscious as to not cause any further trauma
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2
Q

What is the aim of dream analysis?

A
  • to unlock the unconscious mind
  • so that trauma and conflict can be brought into the conscious mind
  • where it can be worked through, processed and dealt with
  • in doing this, the mental illness is treated and cured
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3
Q

What is an ethical issue of dream analysis?

A
  • could cause further pain and trauma
  • trauma and conflict has been locked away for a reason
  • but, to get over the mental illness you must face it
  • so you will feel worse before you feel better
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4
Q

What are abnormalities?

A
  • fears
  • mental illnesses
  • trauma
    etc
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5
Q

How does Freud describe dreams?
What did he propose?

A
  • “the royal road to the unconscious activities of the mind”
  • proposed that the unconscious mind expresses itself through dreams
  • the content of dreams can therefore reveal what is in the unconscious mind
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6
Q

What 4 principles are dream analysis based off of?
(ideas behind dream analysis)

A
  • dreams act as wish fulfilment of the id
  • dreams are symbolic
  • dreamwork
  • the role of the therapist
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7
Q

Dreams act as fulfilment of the id:

  • the id is the demanding…
  • this is too traumatic…
  • however, when we are asleep…
  • according to Freud…
A
  • the id is the demanding part of the personality demanding that its sexual, aggressive and selfish urges be satisfied
  • this is too traumatic for the conscious mind and so these demands exist unconsciously
  • however, when we are asleep, the id has more freedom and our dreams act as wish fulfilment for the id. It gets to satisfy its needs via our dreams
  • according to Freud, all dreams are the unconscious fulfilment of wishes that could not be satisfied consciously
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8
Q

How does the id have more freedom when we’re asleep?

A
  • our conscious mind is asleep
  • so can’t control the id
  • the id can now satisfy needs when asleep in dreams
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9
Q

Dreams are symbolic:

  • if we dreamed what we really feared…
  • therefore, the id’s wishes are…
  • the actual content of the dreams is made up of…
A
  • if we dreamed what we really feared or what the id actually desired, it would cause anxiety for the conscious mind
  • therefore, the id’s wishes and our deep-rooted fears are filtered through layers of symbolism
  • allows the id to be satisfied and our fears to be expressed while still protecting the conscious mind from harm
  • the actual content of the dreams is made up of symbols that represent the real, unconscious meaning of the dream
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10
Q

What is the manifest content of a dream?

A
  • the actual content of the dream
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11
Q

What is the latent content of a dream?

A
  • the real problems buried away
  • the real unconscious meaning of the dream
  • includes wishes, urges, repressed trauma etc.
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12
Q

What is the purpose of dream analysis in therapy?

A
  • to uncover the latent content of a dream by examining the manifest content
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13
Q

What will a patient talk to a therapist about?

A
  • talk about the manifest content
  • the therapist will help guide the patient to uncovering the latent
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14
Q

How will a patient feel better?

A
  • when the symbols have been interpreted, the client has a better understanding of what is causing their distress
  • this can then be processed and worked through and the client will begin to feel better
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15
Q

What is dreamwork?

A
  • how a dream is made
  • the process used by the mind to transform unacceptable, unconscious desires (latent content) into symbols (manifest content)
  • so that the unconscious desires can be expressed in dreams without causing any trauma for the conscious mind
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16
Q

What are the 4 dreamwork processes?

A
  • condensation
  • displacement
  • symbolism
  • secondary revision
17
Q

What is condensation?
What is an example?

A
  • this is the combining of unconscious thoughts into one image
  • one image may represent several ideas
  • for example, dreaming of a person who is made up of different elements of a range of people
18
Q

What is displacement?
What is an example?

A
  • the emotion towards someone or something is transferred onto a safer, less threatening target
  • for example, a person who is angry with their mother may dream of smashing a vase that the mother bought them as a gift
19
Q

What is symbolism?
What is an example?

A
  • abstract concepts are represented in symbolic forms
  • for example, a fear of authority may be symbolised as a powerful king
20
Q

What is secondary revision?

A
  • the unconscious mind collects all the different images and ties them together to form a logical story line
21
Q

What is the role of the therapist in dream analysis?
What do they do?

A
  • to shed a light on the latent content of the dream by “undoing” the dreamwork processes that made the dream
  • do this by suggesting various interpretations of the symbols based on the patient’s feedback and knowledge of their life experiences
  • this allows the patient to select the interpretations that make sense to them
22
Q

By bringing issues into conscious awareness…

A
  • by bringing issues into conscious awareness (insight), they can be dealt with, and unconscious conflicts can be resolved
  • issues could be past or current troubles
    • relationships, jobs, childhood, parents, siblings etc.
23
Q

Talking about the underlying issue can be…

A
  • talking about the underlying issue can be cathartic for the patient
  • they experience psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions
24
Q
A