Dream Therapy Essay -- Psychology Essays

Dream Therapy Dreams have been considered and debated since people have existed. Research on dreams began in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, nothing has proven why dreams happen or what they do. Freud suggested that dreams are an expression of subconscious desires, from which all sorts of strange animal impulses come. He believed that he would be able to find out what bothered people by analyzing their dreams. While dreams reveal troubles much older than Freud, he was the first to try and rationalize dream therapy (Dreaming of a better life). According to American Health (April 1997) about three-quarters of people who use dream therapy are women. They speculate this is due to hormonal differences. Other reasons to speculate that women are more inclined to use dream therapy are because they seem more connected to the dreaming world than men, women dream more often than other times during their menstrual cycle (which helps them recall their dreams more clearly at those times) and women tend to dream more during pregnancy (Waking). People who suffer from frequent nightmares also use dream therapy. Dream therapy may help those who suffer from frequent nightmares find underlying signs of other illnesses or perhaps drug reactions (Dream Therapy: Nightmare). Danya C. MacKean, student at Augustana University College, stated in a paper for a psychology paper that dream therapy is used by patients who are treated for post traumatic stress syndrome These patients use dream therapy to make his or herself aware that they are dreaming to lessen the resistance of confrontation with the figures or situation in which they are dreaming (MacKean). Dream therapy can b... ...oing on in my life. I had fun doing this paper and will more than likely start my journal again. SOURCES Colors in Dreams & Their Meanings. From journal: Dreams Obscure. Common Dream Symbols. Infotrac at Concord Library. http://www.dooyoo.com 7 February 2001. Dreaming of a better life. Pearson, Bryn. http://www.dooyoo.com 10 August 2001. Dreams are the language of the soul†¦ Whitehorse. http://www.garynull.com/Documents/spectrum/waking_up_to_dream_therapy.htm Waking Up To Dream Therapy. http://www.iris-publishing.com/sleep/sleep_help/nightmare_reduc.html 12 November 2003. Dream Therapy: Nightmare Reduction Training. http://ma.essortments.com/dreamstherapya_rfrf.htm 12 November 2003. Dream therapy & alternative psychology. http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/mackean/htm. April 1997. MacKean, Danya C. Symbols. Infotrac at Concord Library.