The Meanings of Dream Contents in the Psychotherapeutic Perspective

꿈의 의미(意味) : 정신치료적적 관점에서

The reason for exploring dreams is to understand the of patient's conflicts and unconscious motivation. Even if the therapeutic value of dreams is considerably faded these days, I can not deny that dreams are still very useful. From the beginning of human history, dreams have been an appealing subject for many people. In the past, dreams chiefly had the value of prophetic meaning, and in our tradition attention was paid to dreams in terms of good and bad dichotomy. Freud's discovery of the Unconscious and technical development of its exploration is reinforced by dream interpretation. In contemporary terms, although dreams are not the royal road to the Unconscious, they surely present a short-cut. I suggest that dreams as a treasure island of the Unconscious have a useful therapeutic value, and that stressing the importance of dreams is by no means anachronistic. I believe that practical sessions without dreams are like a river without bridges.