Sigmund Freud's Theories of Dreams

Manifest vs Latent

Dream content is rarely presented by the mind in a simple and direct fashion. Instead a complex dream is constructed from the basic elements. The raw dream symbols are distorted via condensation (compression, conflation and omission of dream elements) and "displacement" (shifting emphasis). This is followed by a process of "secondary revision" that takes all these (by now distorted) elements and assembles them into some more or less coherent narrative structure.

Freud went further and suggested that very often our conscious mind actively tries to reject the messages of our dreams; we "repress" this knowledge. Dreams are often an expression of a repressed wish that we would rather not admit to - they thus indicate psychic conflict that can in turn be at the core of mental disturbance.

Freudian Dream Analysis & Interpretation

Freud's main technique for analysing the dream was free association. Here the dreamer is encouraged to look not at the direct content of the dream but at the thoughts and emotions it generates.These will then lead to other thoughts and emotions and so on. At its simplest free association is simply saying whatever comes into your head.

As a simple example, assume your dream included birds. This image might remind you of feeding the birds as a child, which might lead to a memory of one particular day in the park, which might remind you of your mother, etc.

The job of the Freudian analyst is to record the chain of associations and assist the dreamer's self-understanding. Freud would look at each individual component of a dream and use each as a starting point for free association then attempt to pull all the threads together into an overall analysis. In this way the dreamer can "sneak up" on repressed emotions.

IMPORTANT: Dream analysis and free association can be traumatic. This is not a medical site. If you suspect you have a medical problem or serious emotional disturbance you should consult your doctor.