______________________________________________________ Dream Work: A Psychoanalytic Perspective
Individual State Behavioral Health Approvals In addition to states that accept ASWB, NetCE is approved as a provider of continuing education by the following state boards: Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners, Pro- vider #0515; Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health, Provider #50-2405; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Social Workers, License #159.001094; Illinois Division of Professional Regula- tion for Licensed Professional and Clinical Counselors, License #197.000185; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Marriage and Family Therapists, License #168.000190. About the Sponsor The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare. Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice. Disclosure Statement It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distrib- uting or providing access to this activity to learners. HOW TO RECEIVE CREDIT • Read the entire course online or in print. • Complete a mandatory test (a passing score of 80 percent is required). Test questions link content to learning objectives as a method to enhance individualized learning and material retention. Provide required personal information and payment information. • Complete the mandatory Course Evaluation.
INTRODUCTION The nature and meaning of dreams has been an area of inter- est throughout history. However, Sigmund Freud elevated the study of dreams to a type of science. His contributions, including the concept of the unconscious, remain relevant to researchers and mental health professionals today. With the publication of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams , the field of psychoanalysis was born, and serious clinical inquiry into the basis and creation of the mind (i.e., Freud’s “theory of the mind”) began. Freud labeled the ethereal parts of the mind (i.e., the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious) that make us human, and he established the foundation for how we think about the brain. His theory of the mind led to the understand- ing that our dreams are both purposeful and meaningful [1]. THE MEANING AND ORIGIN OF DREAMS While sleeping, dreams seem real. On waking, however, the memory of the dream, especially in comparison with waking thoughts and feelings, may seem alien or other-worldly [2]. Freud connected these impressions to the explanation that dreams are messages that begin outside ourselves. Literature is filled with examples of dreams explained as communications from supernatural or divine sources, understood as warnings or predictions [3; 4; 5; 6; 7]. Cryptic dreams have been explained as needing only the wisdom of a gifted interpreter to decode the message [6; 7; 8]. Conceptualizing dreams as supernatural messages means that questions of the dream’s origin, content, meaning, and function are quickly answered. However, this discourages the pursuit of scientific study and dismisses dream- ing as unimportant meandering of the mind [9]. Freud asserted that dreams are meaningful, and that, although their meanings are hidden, a replicable method for uncovering their mean- ings is possible. His confidence in the value of dreams echoes the attitude expressed throughout history: rather than simply being contrasts to waking life, dreams have value, command attention, and deserve efforts to find their meanings. Many contemporary experts support Freud’s assertions about the meaning of dreams, detailing neuroscientific findings consistent with basic psychoanalytic concepts, including the hypothesis that dream content is disguised by censoring operations in the mind. As Solms states, “We are beginning to understand something about the neurological correlates of the censoring function, and we know at least that the structures which are most likely to be implicated are indeed highly active during dreaming sleep” [9]. Others, while acknowledging that dreams have purpose, argue against interpreting dreams. They have abandoned the concept of hidden meaning, attending only to a dream’s literal narrative and the feelings it induces [10]. Regardless of one’s position on the meaning of dreams,
17
EliteLearning.com/Social-Work
Powered by FlippingBook