Aims of DA
- Reveal unconscious
- Uncover latent content by examining manifest
- Offer insights to resolve psych issues
What is manifest content?
Story of the dream. What we remember.
What is latent content?
The hidden wish, desire or emotion of the dream
Main components of DA - Dreamwork
Latent content turned into manifest so as not to cause anxiety or stress. This is dreamwork.
Condensation, displacement, symbolism and secondary elaboration.
Main components of DA - Condensation
2 or more people/objects combined into one image. One image associates several associations and ideas.
Main components of DA - Displacement
Emotional significance of a person/object transferred to a different one in dream.
Main components of DA - Symbolism
Symbol takes place of person/object/event.
Phallic objects - male genitals
King and queen playing cards - parents
Main components of DA - secondary elaboration
Unconscious collects all images and puts them together to form a logical story (manifest content).
Main components of DA - role of therapist
Reverse dreamwork process. Provide various interpretations based on context. Client selects the one which makes the most sense.
Main components of DA - dream diary
Record dreams in as much detail as possible. Also thoughts, memories and associations that relate to dream.
Effectiveness of DA - strengths
- Matt and Navarro 63 meta-analyses, 75% showed improvements
- Reveals unconscious content to help understand psychological issues so can work through and heal.
Effectiveness of DA - weaknesses
- Hobson and McCarthy dreams are simply a form of ‘thinking that happens while we sleep’. Difficult to support Freud’s idea that dreams bring unconscious to conscious. Dream analysis can’t be scientifically validated.
- Open to therapists interpretation - subjective. Affects validity.
Ethics of DA - strengths
- Valid consent from client - only share what they are comfortable with.
Ethics of DA - weaknesses
- Risk of emotional harm. Could bring up repressed event that is distressing. Insight may be necessary for recovery BUT the stress caused could be more harmful than the distress they were already feeling.
- False memory syndrome. Therapist claims traumatic event that never happened. E.g. Coan gave brother story lost in mall. Brother invented added info when asked to recall. We are suggestible.
Apply DA to assumptions.
- Unconscious mind. Dream analysis used in psychoanalysis- makes unconscious conscious so can establish if trauma is causing illness.
- Childhood experiences. Traumatic memories may be linked to childhood events. Dreamwork censors thoughts.
- Tripartite model of personality. Demands of id that are unacceptable in waking hours expressed in dreams. Act out wishes in dreams instead of containing them. Awake - ego blocks unacceptable demands. Ego defences low in sleep, id active and desires acted on.
