Dream Analysis: What Are Dreams Really For in Therapy?

What does dream analysis mean in psychology? Read in plain language why we dream, how it differs from dream books and how therapy works with dreams.

When you wake up in the morning, the dream is still with you: you were back in your primary school classroom, which you have not seen for years, you were about to sit an exam but had not studied at all, and your pen simply would not write. At breakfast you tell your mother about it, and she immediately offers a traditional interpretation. You wonder to yourself, "Does it really mean anything?" Many people who search online for "dream analysis psychology" set out with exactly this curiosity: do dreams carry a message, or are they random products of the sleeping brain? In this article I explain the scientific views on why we dream, the history of dream analysis in psychology, how it differs from traditional dream interpretation, how dreams are worked with in therapy, and when nightmares may point to a need for support.

What Is a Dream, and Why Do We Dream?

Dreams are sequences of images, sounds, emotions and thoughts that form in the mind during sleep. The most vivid, story-like dreams usually occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, although simpler dreams can also occur in other stages of sleep. Almost everyone dreams every night; we just remember only some of our dreams.

There is no single, settled explanation of why we dream. Scientists have put forward different theories:

• Emotional processing: dreams are thought to help process the emotional experiences of the day and reduce their intensity.
• Memory consolidation: there is strong evidence that sleep and dreaming processes play a role in newly learnt information settling into memory.
• Threat rehearsal: some theorists suggest that dreams serve to "rehearse" dangerous situations in a safe setting. This tries to explain why dreams of being chased or falling are so common.
• The brain's effort to make meaning: according to another view, the mind tries to turn the brain's random activity during sleep into a story using familiar elements.

These theories do not have to exclude one another. Dreams very probably serve more than one function. What they have in common is that dreams are connected with our mental and emotional life. That is why it is not surprising that, in stressful periods, dreams become more vivid, more complicated or more disturbing.

Dream Analysis: How Psychology Has Viewed Dreams Over Time

Interest in dreams within psychology began largely with the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud described dreams as "the royal road to the unconscious" and proposed that dreams express repressed wishes and conflicts in a disguised form. In his view, the remembered content of a dream was a disguised version of its underlying meaning.

Carl Gustav Jung looked at dreams from a different angle. For Jung, dreams reflected not only repressed wishes but also a person's striving for balance and the direction of their personal growth. He suggested that the symbols in dreams could have meanings drawn both from personal experience and from humanity's shared experiences.

Gestalt therapy treats every element of a dream as a part of the dreamer; the person takes the place of the different characters or objects in their dream and speaks in their voice. Cognitive approaches, meanwhile, emphasise that dreams reflect the worries, beliefs and thoughts about oneself that a person carries while awake.

Today the generally accepted view in psychology is that dreams have no fixed, universal "code", but that they can carry meaningful clues about a person's emotional world. If you are curious about the place of the unconscious in psychodynamic approaches, you can also have a look at the article on psychodynamic therapy.

Is Traditional Dream Interpretation the Same as Dream Analysis in Psychology?

In Turkey, dreams are often interpreted through the tradition of "tabir", folk dream interpretation. Formulas such as "Losing a tooth in a dream means someone will die" or "Seeing water in a dream means abundance" are passed down from generation to generation. These traditions can have cultural value and a comforting side for people. However, dream analysis in psychology differs from traditional interpretation in a few key respects:

• Personal meaning rather than universal meaning: traditional interpretation assumes that a symbol means the same thing for everyone. In psychology, by contrast, the same symbol can carry very different meanings for different people. A dog may evoke loyalty for one person and, for another, the memory of being bitten as a child.
• No predictions about the future: in psychology, dreams are not seen as signs foretelling the future. Dreams are used to understand a person's current feelings and worries.
• The person does the interpreting: in therapy, the therapist does not dictate the meaning of a dream; the client discovers the meaning through their own associations. The therapist accompanies this discovery.
• Emotion matters more than symbol: what is felt in the dream and after waking up is given more weight than what happens in the dream.

In short, within dream analysis psychology is not offering a tool of prophecy, but a method of exploration that helps a person get to know themselves better. That is why, rather than worrying yourself by looking things up in online dream dictionaries, being curious about what the dream makes you feel is a more useful starting point.

The meaning of a dream is to be found not in a dictionary but in the life of the person who dreamt it.

Common Dreams and Their Possible Meanings

Some dream themes recur in many people. Although these themes do not mean the same thing for everyone, some of the connections often encountered in therapy are:

• Sitting an exam unprepared: especially in people who have been through major exams such as the LGS, YKS or KPSS (Turkey's national high-school, university and civil-service entrance exams), this can occur even years later during periods of performance anxiety or feeling inadequate.
• Being chased: this may be linked to an avoided emotion, decision or conflict.
• Falling: this may be connected with a loss of control or a sense of insecurity.
• Teeth falling out: this may be associated with worries about appearance, change or a sense of loss.
• Not being able to get somewhere in time: this may be linked to the busyness of everyday life and the fear of not keeping up or missing out.
• Seeing a loved one who has died: this can be a natural part of the grieving process; at times it is a comforting experience, at times a saddening one.

Think of these connections not as definite interpretations but as questions you can ask yourself, such as "Is there an area of my life where I've been feeling inadequate lately?" or "Could there be a subject I'm running away from?"

How Can You Think About Your Own Dreams?

If you are curious about your dreams, you can make some discoveries on your own without seeing a professional:

1. Keep a dream diary: when you wake up, even before getting out of bed, write down in a few sentences what you remember. Dreams are forgotten quickly in the minutes after waking.
2. Write down the feeling: What did you feel in the dream? What were you feeling when you woke up? Fear, relief, shame, longing?
3. Connect it with your day: What did you go through the day or week before the dream? Which worries, encounters or conversations were occupying your mind?
4. Make associations: What do the important elements in the dream remind you of? Which memory or thought does a person, a place or a colour bring to mind?
5. Notice repetitions: if certain themes or feelings keep recurring, they may point to an issue in your life that has not yet been resolved.
6. Do not get stuck on the dream: not every dream has to have a deep meaning. Sometimes a dream simply carries traces of the series you watched in the evening or the heavy meal you ate.

Let's say someone who has started a new job has for several weeks been repeatedly dreaming of getting lost in the corridors of their old school. While looking through their dream diary, they notice that these dreams become more frequent especially on the nights before meetings. What the dream may be telling them is their anxiety about not finding their way in the new environment and "not knowing enough". This realisation turns the dream from a frightening sign into a feeling that can be worked on.

Dreams and Nightmares in Children

Children dream just as adults do; however, their ability to tell dreams from reality develops with age. A preschool child may describe a nightmare as if it really happened and come to their parents in the middle of the night crying. Themes such as monsters, the dark, getting lost or being separated from their parents are common at this age.

Children's dreams, too, are often linked to their everyday experiences. The birth of a new sibling, starting school, moving house, parents' arguments or a frightening news item seen on television can be reflected in dreams. One example of this is that, after the 6 February 2023 earthquakes, many families noticed nightmares about shaking and collapsing buildings even in children who had not experienced the earthquake directly.

When supporting a child who has had a nightmare, the following can help:

• Comforting them in a calm voice and telling them they are safe
• Not dismissing the dream, but helping them reconnect with reality by saying "That was a dream, now you're awake"
• The next day, if they wish, giving them the chance to tell their dream through drawing or play; even changing the ending of the dream together
• Keeping the bedtime routine calm and predictable, and avoiding frightening content before bed

If nightmares go on for weeks, if the child is afraid to sleep, or if marked changes are seen in their daytime behaviour, it may be helpful to see a mental health professional who works with children.

When Do Nightmares Need Support?

Having a nightmare now and then is extremely common and is often linked to stressful periods. In some situations, however, nightmares may be part of a problem that requires professional support:

• If nightmares have been recurring several times a week for a long time
• If you have become afraid of going to sleep or your sleep pattern has been markedly disrupted
• If the nightmares keep reliving a traumatic event you have been through
• If they leave you tired, distracted and anxious during the day

Nightmares that occur after a traumatic event and make the person relive it can be one of the signs of post-traumatic stress. For detailed information on this subject, you can read the article on post-traumatic stress disorder. You can find more about the experience of constant nightmares in the article on having nightmares all the time. These signs do not on their own mean a diagnosis; but they suggest that an assessment would be useful.

Dream Analysis in Therapy: How Does Psychology Work With Dreams in Practice?

The way dreams are worked with in therapy varies according to the approach used. In ethical, skilled therapy, however, dreams are never interpreted with a ready-made dictionary.

In psychodynamic approaches, dreams are seen as an important window onto unconscious processes. The client describes their dream and then says freely whatever comes to mind about its elements. Through these associations, the therapist helps the client explore their emotional conflicts and relationship patterns together.

In cognitive behavioural therapy, dreams take up a more limited place but can be useful material. Themes that appear in dreams, such as constantly failing or being abandoned, can be linked with the core beliefs a person carries while awake.

When working with nightmares, imagery rehearsal work grounded in cognitive behavioural principles may be used. In this method, the person rewrites their recurring nightmare while awake: they change the ending or a part of the dream and regularly picture this new version in their mind during the day. This work is known to help reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares in many people.

In individual therapy, dreams usually come up when the client brings them. The therapist approaches a dream not as a separate puzzle but as part of the client's life and of the subjects discussed in therapy. The aim is not to "solve" the dream but to use it to look more closely at the client's feelings and needs.

Sometimes a dream opens the door to talking about something the client finds hard to say while awake. A client who says, "In my dream I was arguing with my mother and I told her things I've never been able to say to her" may, through this dream, recognise a hurt they suppress in real life. Here the therapist focuses not on what the dream "proves" but on what the client feels while describing it, and on where this feeling finds an echo in their present relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do dreams show the future?

In psychology there is no scientific basis for the idea that dreams foretell the future. Dreams are fed by a person's current feelings, worries and experiences. Sometimes the feeling that a dream came true can be explained by the mind processing, in a dream, a situation it was already expecting or worrying about.

I never dream; is that a problem?

You very probably do dream but do not remember it. Whether you remember a dream depends on how you wake up, your sleep pattern and individual differences. Not remembering dreams is not, on its own, a sign of a problem.

I keep having the same dream; what does it mean?

Recurring dreams may be related to a feeling or situation in your life that has not yet been resolved. Noting down the dream and what it makes you feel helps you notice whether there is a common theme. If the dream is distressing, it may be helpful to talk about it with a professional.

Can I go to therapy to talk about my dreams?

Yes, you can talk about your dreams in therapy. In therapy, however, dreams are usually addressed not on their own but together with other matters in your life. If your dreams are preoccupying you, worrying you or disturbing your sleep, this is a valuable starting point that can be worked on in therapy.

• #dreams
• #dream analysis
• #nightmares
• #psychotherapy

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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