The significance of dreams in psychoanalytic theory

¶ … dream can be described as a succession of emotions, images, events and thoughts that are processed through the mind of a person during sleep. The interpretation of the content and may be the purpose f the dreams that an individual experiences is not yet been fully comprehended. There are however several theories that attempt to explain and interpret the role and content of dreams. The perfect interpretation of a dream has a lot of clinical potential in the process of mapping the progress of a person's character as he or she undergoes psychological therapy. In this paper I present a thorough definition of dream from the view point of various theorists and subsequently discuss the role of dreams in the context of psychoanalytic theory and practice. This document specifically studies the role that dreams play in the process of determining a person's character or personality. This is with the aim of assisting in the process of mapping the progress of an individual's psychological therapy.

Introduction

The process of interpreting the content of dreams marks on of the major cornerstones of the psychoanalytic technique. This is despite the fact that there is a considerable amount of emphasis on the critical analysis of the actual transference as opposed to the interpretation of the dream itself (Blum, 1976).As indicated by Feud (1900),the process of interpreting dreams leads to a profound understanding of an individual's subconscious. Dreams therefore are an expression of the a person's subconscious attitude and are therefore a major indicator of a persons general behavior. Dream has therefore served a myriad of purposes in an individual's mind. They may reveal a person's wishes, his or her drive derivatives and also portray their defenses. The dreams may also act as a representation of an individual's world. This world of object and self could be in the form of the individual life both past and current (Stolorow, 1978).

As noted by Greensen (1970), a dream marks the freest form of free associations. While undergoing therapy based on a patient's dream. The patient in question can be assisted in recognizing his or her dreams as being comprised of his or her own meaningful creation. This is despite the fact that some dreams may appear very bizarre and completely unfathomable. In the process of helping a patient in working through his dreams, it important to make him feel very close and be familiar with their own worlds of dream. This in the process would help the patient in developing a staunch belief in their subconscious which in turn would help the patient in governing their present and future behavior.

This paper therefore evaluates the importance of dream in the process determining a person's character or personality. This is with the done aim of assisting in the process of mapping the progress of an individual's psychological therapy. The analysis is based on the foundation set aside by the various well-known theories of psychoanalysis that have a far reaching importance in the field of clinical psychoanalysis.

Freud (1900) explained dream interpretation as the royal path to understand unconscious. The conscious attitude's counterpart is expressed by a dream, and this influences our behaviors unwittingly. Dreams can also reveal drive derivatives, defenses, wishes, along with the broad aspect of representation of self, object and world in the past and current life. (Stolorow, 1978)

Greensen, (1970) established his explanation of a dream as the most free of the free associations. A patient is able to be guided in order to recognize the dreams he experiences as his own creation which are also meaningful even if the dream appears incomprehensible and bizarre. A patient that is working on his dream can feel familiar and close to his own dream and it is possible to develop a belief in the unconscious mind which reflects his current behavior.

Freud (1900) insists that the latent meaning should be rigorously pursued to interpret the real meaning of a dream. This content of manifest is disguised along the dream work. Presently, the decision between manifest and latent has not proved useful. It is therefore true that every dream develops numerous levels of meaning. Since all the levels can not be dealt with in a simultaneous manner, focus on the most appropriate theme to that phase of extra analytic situation and transference at the time. However, the attitude or the manner towards which the dream is reported reveals even more than the likely rich dream content. Erickson (1954) has argued of the systematic attention of a dreams manifest content which is capable of revealing an individuals experience modes and relating to the world happenings as well as to self.

Arlow and Brenner (1964) have concluded that counter forces and forces interplay that determines a patient's present conflict may be more or less discernable directly in the manifest of the dream. Kohut (1977) demonstrates that narcissistically disturbed individuals. The condition of fragmented own self may be concretely depicted in the manifest dream imagery.

During formulation of the core psychodynamic structure from a number of dreams, Saul (1940) established the fact that the psychodynamic theme formulation can be done by carefully examining a series of present dreams different from other materials. For example, a patient that saw a hostile and dangerous external reality views himself as the victim in his dreams of violence such as accidents, war, bombing, harassment and many more. These kinds of dreams indicate to a patient that he is not loved or wanted.

Freud (1990) describes his formulation of the most important part of a dream as the satisfaction of the repressed. Dreams that wish to fulfill are the most frequent dreams that this kind of patient experiences. For example, sexual advances and peaceful travelling are events from dreams that are usually more unlikely to happen in reality. Freud continues his arguments that wish fulfillment is used as a fictitious solution or a defense mechanism in a dream. If a dreamer dreams of having sex with a woman, he becomes sure of being ready for heterosexuality. If this same guy gets a chance to have sex in reality, he withdraws; thus realizing that in his dreams and thoughts, he was deceiving himself as a mechanism of defense against creating better efforts in his life.

Jacobi (1942) explains that dreams are responsible for expressing the counterpart of the conscious attitude. The dream is like a statement that is influenced by consciousness that can rectify a given situation. Fairbairn (1954) expresses his hypothesis of a dream is, the dreams ability to attempt working through or dealing with bad relationships. In every turning point, the individual has dreams that compensate and corrects his blind spots and subjective distortions.

Dreams therefore perform an integral role in psychoanalysis. The main role that it plays is that of bringing along re-equilibrium and self-regulation as proposed by Jung (1935). This comes about if the attitude of the consciousness mind is extremely unbalanced and obviate an individual's the real potential then an equilibrating adjustment is promptly activated in the unconscious mind which that tends to realign the consciousness. Such an adjustment makes use of dream activity as its chosen channel.

Jung proceeds to corroborate that the more the attitude of the consciousness tends to be unilateral and the larger its deviation from the optimal state that possesses the vital properties, which accentuates how vivid and ripe dreams are. Dreams therefore develop as subconscious expressions of a patient's self-governing mechanism as proposed by Jung (1916-1948).

The functions of the dream are endless, however, to this extremely fundamental compensatory mechanism: the unconscious and the dreams in certain instances do have perspective roles, which is to provide the conscious activities with better and very improved directions.

It is therefore as though the unconscious were able to comprehend certain attributes of development that are vague for the conscious mind. The unconscious can in certain occasions detect irrational and dangerous situations and then appropriately transmit that knowledge to the consciousness through the metaphoric attributes contained in the interpretation of the dreams.

Jung asserts that the majority of crises usually possess a long period of incubation that is manifesting them by way of dreams (Jung 1961).Jung further asserts that the perspective roles of dreams take the form of particular relevance at the start of the analytical process: The patient being analysed therefore frequently narrates a dream that clearly exposes the entire map of the unconscious and can therefore be to be a credible prognosis for the future therapy.

H. Kohut noted that the profound importance that is attached to the analysis of dreams as a therapeutic tool during therapy. He however has never elaborated a comprehensive theory on activity of dream, he therefore limited his research domain and then proposed certain theoretical advancements that associate with the dreams obsessed "self-state dreams." He in the process avoided putting the Freudian theories in jeopardy.

H. Kohut (1977) in his book "In his "The Restoration of the Self" refers to two topologies of dream: the initial one includes the frequent dreams who interpretation is based on the theory of repressed and yet very infantile desires. The is also based on drive-defence model which was advanced by Freud.

The second topology one includes the less common dreams whose meaning are different and should therefore be treated and handled in the light of latest theoretical frameworks as advanced by Kohut Self-psychology. He referred to these dreams as "Self-state dreams" which are experienced when the patient's psychological structure stability is in jeopardy .Such crisis or threat usually occur in different pathological states, the states can however vary from being hyper-stimulation (maniacal), to tension reduction in approach of a depressed state. This might lead to a serious problem related to the of the psychic structure's disintegration .

Kohut in (1977) stated that the act of exhibiting the elements of a dream makes up the attempt by the unconscious to tackle the psychological dangers that are related to the actual processes portrayed in the visual images in the dream

Through the process of symbolic manifestations, Stolorow (1989) pointed out that images in the dream due necessitates the covering and merging of a threat to the self and the incorporation asolid attempt to repair. The main function of the dream is therefore to protect the psychological faculty through process of concretisation in a reparative manner. This one advertently denotes a definite form that is associated to the dreadful experience that is related to self-dissolution.

Kohut did not advance a comprehensive a dream theory, however had a series of key intuitions that were organized by J. Fosshage later in his works.

Kohut insists that an individual's psychology has the capacity to self-regulate. This is however organized through comprehensive relationships with others. The self-regulatory activity occurs through images in the dream and they tend to serve a protective role for the psychology when there is a threat to its integrity

Kohut however initially limited the "self-state dreams" to a just a few of dreams, he progressively expanded this category. In the end he included these few dreams those that had positive experience of transformation which happened with the feeling of a strong, and yet very harmonic self that has been subjected to a totally new dimension. The dream therefore portrays symbolically this transformation and places it in a "concrete" state (Kohut 1979).

J. Fosshage however draws a solution that the dream do perform a complex role which involve integrating and synthesising, making a comparisons and analysis of different sources, that range from the neurophysiologic research targeted at R.E.M. sleep to the cognitive studies, and the psychoanalytic theories based on theoretical framework not having a relationship with the classical model. While referring to is own clinical experience, Fosshage asserts that the most fundamental functions of dreaming geared towards the development, servicing and the process of reintegrating the psychological domain.

Developmental function refers to the possibility of bringing together several processes of change through the ability to represent them using symbols (Fosshage,1987): by way of images the dream acquire form and then foresees the entire development functions that are still blurred to the conscious mind. Latest psychological configurations that assist in organising the psychological life of the dreamer and new relational attributes can be emerged.

To show these concepts, Fosshage narrated the dream of certain a woman in her fifties: she was very intelligent and had a successful professional life. She however was emotionally repressed and therefore had a very confined life-style. After many months of psychotherapeutic treatment, she woman dreamed that she was the driver of a certain a Porsche which was fire-red in color. The image of the Porsche car hinted to the integral and "emotive" element of her personality had begun to re-emerge and develop due to the analytical relationship she had acquired. This had however still not manifested in her conscious life.

Other important roles of the dream involve maintaining and reintegrating the psychological configuration. These are two related functions: the word "reintegration" does refer to the very serious clinical cases in which a patient fears the risk associated with the disintegration of his or her mind. In this case we can detect a very profound analogy using Kohut's ideas.He advanced a theory which stated and defined the existence of "self-state dreams." He noted that an individual can feel endangered due to a compromise of the integrity of his or her psychology. Conversely,-word "maintenance" do refer to the actual necessity of maintaining a firm and yet structured principles whose role is the act of organising an individual's psychological manifestations with an aim of guaranteeing a feeling of internal cohesion.

The dream can therefore take the role maintaining a re-equilibrium of the psychological faculties through the effective regulation of an individual's emotions. A perfect example is that it can necessitate the manifestation of certain bitter feelings that have been contained within the waking states, thereby leading to a redirection of the feeling of discomfort to the emotional state and therefore leading to the renewing of an individual's self-esteem.