Analyst's Dream Job Is Deciphering Dreams

Everything in a dream—even objects—represents the dreamer and how he or she experiences the world, Roth reported. Nonetheless, dreams may contain universal symbols. “Trains are usually symbols of change, separation, or newness.” There were a lot of trains in Freud's dreams.

One purpose of dreaming seems to be to enhance learning. Recent research has revealed that while most dreams occur during REM sleep, dreams can occur during non-REM stages of sleep as well, and that dreams that occur during REM sleep or non-REM sleep can enhance specific types of learning. For example, REM sleep dreams seem to boost the learning of grammar, whereas non-REM sleep dreams appear to boost the learning of sports. In fact, “Each stage of sleep seems to contribute to different kinds of learning,” he noted.

A second purpose of dreaming appears to be to solve problems. Indeed, if one examines the content of dreams concerned with problem-solving, one may well find a solution to the problem within the dream. For example, Roth cited a dream that one of his patients once had. The patient tried to drive away from home, but could not manage to do so. So she tried again—and again. Finally she succeeded and arrived at the home of an art teacher whom she had liked very much. The teacher had let her paint whatever she wanted. She felt relieved and happy. The dream thus seemed to reflect her desire to break out of a dependent relationship with her husband and to establish a world of her own.

Actually, some people ratchet up dreaming during times of crisis, which may well be because they need dreams to help them solve their dilemmas, Roth pointed out.

A third purpose of dreaming, Roth continued, seems to be to help people work through trauma. He cited a study in which a researcher tracked the dreams of people who had been traumatized in a car accident. The researcher found that the people dreamt different types of dreams as time went by. First they tended to dream of the accident occurring (as in flashbacks). Then they tended to dream that they had survived earlier traumas in their lives and probably could surmount this most recent one as well. Finally they stopped dreaming about the accident altogether. These findings suggest that they were using their dreams to work through their trauma.

As a matter of fact, Roth speculated, dreams may not only help people metabolize trauma, but transform their trauma into works of art. For instance, Freud wrote his Interpretation of Dreams in the wake of his father's death, and it has a lot to do with loss and mourning. Roth thus believes that Freud's dreams about his father served as a springboard for his creation of the work.

Dreams have still another purpose as far as psychotherapy goes, Roth stressed—they can help therapists help patients better understand their problems and how to solve them.

For example, say you suspect that a dream that a patient has recounted has something to do with the current problems he is facing. One way to find out is to examine the dream's affect, Roth said. Affect is usually the key to the meaning of dreams and often represents conflict.

Also, therapists should be aware that every dream that patients bring to them may have a transference element. A dream that a woman once recited to her therapist illustrates this point. The woman dreamt that she poisoned her dog, which she did not like. The dog may have represented herself to a degree since she was unhappily married and “snapped” at her husband. But the dog may also have represented her therapist. In other words, she may have been unconsciously asking herself, “Will my therapist snap at me just as I snap at my husband?”

Finally, if you are having trouble interpreting a patient's dream, you might follow a tip from Freud, Roth advised: Try reversing the process of the dream, and it might give you the answer. ▪