______________________________________________________ Dream Work: A Psychoanalytic Perspective
National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP) requires its members to have a minimum of 450 hours of course work, 1,500 hours of supervised clinical experience that includes 200 hours of psychoanalytic case supervision and 300 hours of individual analysis. The requirements of individual institutions often exceed NAAP requirements [30]. Dream Work The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization established in 1984 to encourage research and dream study. The IASD has adopted recommendations for the training of dream study practitioners, including those whose practice is mainly or exclusively focused on dream work as well as those who include dream work as part of their overall practice. According to the IASD, training programs for dream study practitioners should [31]: • Have a clear ethics statement, including a disclaimer that while dream work can be therapeutic, it is not a replacement for psychotherapy • Clearly assign the authority of dream work to the dreamer and not to an outside person, including a therapist. The dreamer is ultimately in charge of interpreting thoughts, feelings, and associations about their dreams. • Include both supervised one-on-one and group practice • Include written goals and learning objectives • Include protocol to avoid projection • Require students to do their own dream work • Require faculty to be sufficiently trained in the ethics of dream work • Be aware of cultural differences between teachers and students • Contain recommendations for continued study • Contain the hours necessary to be sufficiently trained • Record the training levels of all graduates In addition to the ethical guidelines of each clinician’s disci- pline, the IASD requires that dream work practitioners recog- nize the dignity and integrity of the dreamer. The dreamer is the decision-maker regarding the significance of the dream and may or may not share any part of the dream he or she chooses. The hour belongs to the patient; therefore, the patient’s lead supersedes the clinician’s interest. Ethical dream work guides the dreamer to more fully experience, appreciate, and under- stand the dream. It also recognizes the validity of approaches from many traditions and cultures [31]. ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUE The patient-therapist relationship is the essential treatment tool in psychoanalysis. The analyst listens with an uncommon empathy, a situation in which the analyst’s own unconscious engages as a “third ear.” Personal analysis prepares the analyst
for this work in three ways. First, the analyst learns analytic technique by experiencing the methods as a patient. Second, knowledge of personal idiosyncrasies and blind spots arms the analyst against overlooking or exaggerating those of his or her clients. Finally, and most importantly, even when bombarded by the strong feelings expressed by clients, the analyst avoids reacting with personal feelings (whether conscious or uncon- scious) and abstains from meeting personal emotional needs, which the patient’s behavior may stimulate. The analyst’s focus at all times is to help the patient observe self-behavior.
THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE/ ETHNICITY ON DREAMING
Dreams are an integral part of daily life across cultures. Although the biologic and physiologic framework of dreams is consistent throughout the world, the importance, validity, and value placed on dreams differs [32; 33; 34; 35]. Research indicates that although both Eastern and Western cultures place certain validity on dreams, Western cultures more readily determine dreams to be a product of the brain without having greater meaning [35; 36]. Western cultures often view dreams, and the act of dreaming, as unreal and unimportant, viewing waking life as the only true “reality” [37]. Many contemporary psychologists hold this to be true, asserting that dreams merely sort memories. They believe that dreams are a reflection of the organization of an individual’s thoughts and daily experi- ences and how these thoughts and experiences relate to the individual’s physical, emotional, and social life [38]. In contrast, many Eastern cultures view dreaming either as an opportunity to connect with another realm of “reality” or as a tool to spiritually progress [37]. Tibetan Buddhists practice a meditative dream state called dream yoga, whereby they use their dreams to assess inner sources of suffering [39]. Dream yoga is a meditative practice in which the dreamer maintains a dream state while being lucid. Both dreaming and waking states are considered equally real or unreal; thus, dream yoga practitioners are able to use these dreams to assess individual sources of unhappiness. By determining the source, they are able to address their own discontent and ultimately live a hap- pier life with a greater sense of peace [39]. Other cultures view dreams as spiritual phenomena connecting the dreamer to spirits, nature, and other dimensions outside their waking reality. In Native American cultures, dreaming connects the individual to spirits, providing a compassionate understanding of dimensions outside present reality [39]. In the Ese Eja community in the Peruvian Amazon, dreamers “see” the names of their unborn children in dreams, showing a direct indication of the importance placed on the dreams themselves. The Ese Eja perception is that reality and dreams are intertwined and overlapping in time and space [40]. In some instances, the lack of adequate dreaming is seen as a detri- ment to a community and its livelihood. In the Andamanese hunter-gatherer culture in India, dream sharing is practiced
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