Dream Analysis

Dream Analysis does not employ the dream itself to procure healing, but rather uses the client’s interpretation of the dream through a verbal description. One cannot accurately depict the nuances and specifics of any dream. Therefore, the verbal description is the highest form of the true depiction of the dream. Regardless of the trigger that led to the dream, the dream itself is a window into one’s psychological reasoning system. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung both used dream analysis in their work and wrote extensively on the subject.

• Clinical Dream Interpretation
• Resources Related to Dream Analysis

Clinical Dream Interpretation

Dream interpretation in the clinical sense involves three specific things:

1. The first requirement is a written text of the dream itself. To capture it in its most vibrant state, therapists recommend that you write adream down immediately upon waking. If you cannot remember all of the aspects or details of your dream, the therapist will transcribe what you remember as best as he can.
2. The second important component to accurate dream analysis is to have a comprehensive understanding of your own relationship to theimages in your dream. The psychological role you play in your own dream, relative to the images your mind conjures up, is vital to proper analysis. If something from your dream seems to be meaningless, you may discover, upon further review, that the image elicited feelings or thoughts from childhood that directly impact your present day struggles.
3. Lastly, you must work to discover the relationship that each of these associations shares. In other words, try to see the bigger picture with respect to the associations in your dream and how they relate to situations you are dealing with in the present moment. What messages are these images trying to convey? Very often you can take an image from your dream and identify your emotional reaction to it. And by reflecting on your past life and times that you had the same emotional experience, you can relate those previous situations to your current one and create any possible associations.

Resources Related to Dream Analysis:

Official Websites for Dream Analysis: Body Mind Psychotherapy.com, ASDreams.org, Dream Analysis

Robert L. Van de Castle, Ph.D

Susan Spangler Hendricks, MA, MSW

The Jung Page

Wikipedia's Page about Dream Analysis