Dream Analysis Essay Research Paper Dream AnalysisBased

Dream Analysis Essay, Research Paper

Dream Analysis

Based on: Modern Man In Search Of A Soul

In his book, Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, C.G. Jung gives a layperson insight into his ideas on dream analysis. Jung’s primary objective in this book is to educate the reader as to what a psychoanalyst does when analyzing a patient’s dreams. The principal message in the section of the book centered on dream analysis is that dreams should never stand alone. Dreams are meaningless in a vacuum, but on the other hand when put against a strict set of rules, they are oftentimes misunderstood. The unconscious is a fluid entity and cannot be handled either in isolation or with a static set of guidelines. Dreams are reflections of the unconscious and can represent many different things inside of a person. Modern Man In Search Of A Soul describes the techniques of dream analysis that a psychoanalyst following Jung’s ideas would ideally follow.

In the time when Modern Man In Search Of A Soul was written, 1931, many psychiatrists did not believe in the unconscious. Jung says that the unconscious exists and that without it dreams would be “merely a freak of nature”. Without the unconscious the dream would simply be a group of memory fragments assembled in a strange order. With the unconscious dreams represent a window into the inner thoughts which are causally related to neuroses and are therefore important in a patients treatment. Apart from the therapeutic implications of this hypothesis, it can lead to scientific insight into psychic causality. Therapists who are interested in the scientific aspects of dream analysis will find that their scientific understandings are therapeutic and will most likely share them to gain insight on the present neurosis.

During the course of an analysis, which may last many months, dreams often become deluded and make less sense. This is because a relationship will develop and the analyst’s interpretations are clouded by their previous judgements of the person. This does not allow for any change in the patient’s inevitable movement from their initial state to their cured state. If dreams remain clear and understandable throughout an analysis, then the therapist has yet to touch on an important aspect of the patient’s neurosis.

Serving to influence the interpretations of dreams is very commonly the type of relationship between therapist and patient. Jung gives an example of the initial dreams of a patient obviously representing her feelings towards her therapists. Each time she would find a new therapist she would be driven away. Her dreams would be more and more open with different therapists until she reached Jung and her initial dreams embraced him and they subsequently had a productive analysis. The cause of this patient’s neurosis came to light later, but was in no way present in her initial dreams. Dreams can often be anticipatory and are misleading if looked at in merely causalistic ways.

When a doctor understands a patient completely and the patient seems to have no understanding of himself, an analyst will frequently accuse the patient of resistance. It is recommended that if an analyst holds all of the understanding, then he should stress where he lacks understanding of the patient. Even if an analyst comes to a sound conclusion of the meaning of a dream, but the patient is reluctant to agree, the therapist should not push this understanding on the patient. In this case the analyst should work with the patient to come to a mutually gratifying conclusion. This will result in an understanding not only in the brain, as in the first case, but also in the heart which will eventually help cure the patient of his neurosis.

Analysts who derive their interpretations of dreams on preconceived notions or a one-sided theory and then proceed to push these interpretations onto their patients have to do so by suggestion. Suggestion is a valuable tool for short-term small fixes. When an analyst uses suggestion as the basis of the analysis it becomes a volatile situation. Suggestion rests very much on the patient’s own ability to understand, and in some cases the patient’s lack of understanding can lead to disastrous results. Even if the suggestion is successful, it is still a makeshift solution. The patient may understand the analysis consciously, but in their core they still do not understand. It is like creating a building around a volcano, the building looks strong, but the interior can explode and destroy the building at any moment.

Dreams occur in our unconscious state, which is where we spend about half of our lives. So to ignore dreams or pass them off as unhelpful is an obvious oversight of the reality of human existence. The conscious state is “characterized by concentration, limitation, and exclusion.” This is the reason why analysts should not pare down the meaning of a dream to the confines of a narrow dogma. At the same time to leave dreams to their own individual interpretation would be ignorant. There are certain archetypes that appear in dreams representing ideas, fears, anxieties, etc. There are dreams that are unintelligible to doctor and patient alike, but in a perfect world all dreams have some meaning within the patient’s unconscious.

Obscure dreams are very difficult to interpret. Free association, as prescribed by Freudian analysis is not usually very helpful. Most p