The Dream Unbound

Abstract

Since the publication of Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, the psychoanalyst has been concerned with how to bring the unconscious mind closer to consciousness. This paper reflects the shift in understanding the use of dreams for the psychoanalytic exploration of the vicissitudes of the self and a shift away from the notion of wish fulfillment as a core motivational force in wish production. Another important change in psychoanalytic theory is the relevance of the analyst's subjective experience of the patient, which enhances the understanding of the therapeutic process. From the acknowledgment of the importance of a countertransference dream, the analyst has greater access to thoughts, feelings, and images which enable the analyst to work through the resistances to change, which occur in the consulting room. Two clinical vignettes depict the use of self-state dreams which reveal the patient's self-experience and a countertransference dream which gives greater access to the analyst's inner world and thus wards off a potential dismantling of the psychotherapeutic relationship.