Freud—“The Royal Road”

Freud’s valuable contributions to understanding dreams cannot be underestimated. The Interpretation of Dreams is generally considered the cornerstone of subsequent work and understanding of dreams and dream interpretation by practitioners throughout the world. Since the landmark publication in 1900, different theories have emerged about the unconscious, symbols, and dream interpretation.

Freud believed that dream analysis and the interpretation of dreams provided the “royal road” to understanding the unconscious mind. According to Freud, dream content that is recalled and remembered, is actually a mask with veneer covering to protect our ego from unacceptable, threatening, conflictual, and unpleasant content.

This disguise or veneer is referred to as the manifest content and represents forbidden, repressed impulse wishes from infancy or early childhood. The latent content which contained the dream’s hidden, but true meaning, is of greater significance according to Freud. The manifest content was only the starting point for the dreamer, enabling the client to engage in free association which Freud believed led to the underlying latent meaning of the dream. Latent content, according to Freud, was comprised of unconscious sexual and aggressive wishes and fantasies unacceptable to the conscious ego.

Many dreams contain images and symbols that are analogous to primitive rites, myths, and cultures. These dream images were referred to by Freud as archaic remnants or left-over psychic fragments from long ago which still adhere to our modern mind. This point of view relegates the unconscious to an “appendix” or storage bin for all things to be repressed, discarded, worthless, and forgotten.

Many experts now recognize that dream symbols are not dead or meaningless. They should not be minimized in terms of their importance to understanding the psyche. They belong to the regular structure of the unconscious and have been documented in peoples throughout the world, in various cultures everywhere, in dreams of the intelligent, the “un-intelligent,” the literate, illiterate, the emotionally stable, as well as the schizophrenic.

Carl Jung

Jung was an early colleague of Freud but later broke away as a result of divergent theories about dream work. Jung believed that dreams
reveal much broader themes besides repressed wishes associated with aggression and sexuality. Jung is credited with identifying archetypal material as metaphors which may be shared by all of mankind through the collective unconscious. This collective unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite form to certain psychic contents. Dream symbolism can assist the dreamer discover and define the aspect of “self.” In Jung’s view the dream represents the unconscious compensatory process to confront the ego with what is most necessary to bring its attitude into accord or “balance” with the reality of the whole personality. Jung identified two fundamental points when dealing with dreams. The first is to treat the dream as fact about which one must make no previous assumption except that it somehow makes sense; and second, the dream is a specific expression of the unconscious.

Jung’s Symbolism

In order to more fully understand the meaning of our dreams, it’s important to recognize the cultural and eternal symbols. Symbols are important constituents of our mental makeup or psyche, and the vital forces which comprise the building blocks of human society. Examples of Jung’s symbols include the symbols of transcendence.

Jung defined transcendence as a sense of completeness achieved through a union of the conscious with the unconscious contents of the mind. He called this the transcendent function of the psyche by which a man can achieve his highest goals and fully realize the potential of self. Symbols of transcendence are those representing man’s attempt to strive and reach the goal of “transcendence.” Examples of symbols which might represent the striving to reach self actualization are birds, the lonely journey or pilgrimage. Ancient
trees and plants may also symbolize growth and development. The universal quality of the animal can also be a symbol of transcendence in that creatures are symbolic denizens of the collective unconscious. Other transcendent
symbols are rodents, lizards, snakes, and sometimes fish. Airplanes, flying, space rockets are more modern day symbols which physically embody the transcendent principle of freeing us from gravity or containment.
Automobiles often represent the self on the journey to reach full potential.

Other Symbols

Water, or the sea, usually represents the unconscious. The sea is viewed by some as the origin of all life forms. Water is also known to be essential for
life. Water may appear in the dream in various forms such as rivers, streams, lakes, ice, rain, gas, oceans, typhoons, waterfalls, pools. When interpreting
dreams, one must consider what the relationship is between the dreamer and the water. The therapist would want to know if the dreamer was swimming, floating, sinking, boating or flying over the water. Each relationship could point to a different meaning.

Dancing might symbolize parts of self looking for free expression. Basements often symbolize the unconscious, “below the surface,” depths of self. An
attic usually represents a place of storage where boxes may need to be packed or unpacked. There may be a need to “hold on” to the past, or to get rid of things from the past before moving forward. Does the client need to
reconnect with the past? Remember the past? Perhaps the client just needs to accept that this phase of their life is part of the normal aging process.

Snakes which remind us of the reptilian brain, can symbolize the primitive hunger, thirst, or sex drive. If there is fear surrounding the snake in the dream, it could represent the fear associated with what is repressed or denied.

Stones symbolize something that can never be lost, dissolved. Stones typically refer to something that is eternal or “self.” Dreams containing “monsters” are often the method used by the psyche to capture our attention. Typically, monsters represent parts of our self referred to by Jung as the shadow.

The shadow is the part of our self that least conforms to our persona or
mask that we present to the outside world. The shadow is not necessarily bad but rather it’s the part that has been split off because we do not accept that part of self. For example, the shadow could be the tender part of the “gangster” that gives large sums of money to the church or to the impoverished. Recently in the news, perhaps it was Governor Spitzer’s shadow which finally emerged to reveal his real sexual hunger that had previously been hidden to the public eye. Governor Spitzer’s public persona had always been “Elliot Ness” or, the great crime buster. He was always relentless and aggressive to identify and punish those who had engaged in illegal prostitution as well as other crimes. However, as the shadow manifested in Spitzer’s life, it was these exact crimes that he had fought so hard against both in his personal as well as public life.

Archetypes

The word “archetype” comes from the Latin, “arche” meaning old, and “type” meaning patterns—old patterns. Jung believed that archetypes were an inherited, instinctual, tendency of the human mind to form representations of mythological motifs—representations that may vary a
great deal in their manifestations, without losing their basic pattern. They
cannot be assigned to any particular time, region, or race of people. They are without known origin and can reproduce themselves even their transmission through migration must be ruled out. Jung believed there are types of
situations and types of figures that repeat themselves frequently and have a
corresponding meaning. Among the human figures that that can be arranged under a series of archetypes and are frequently the subject of dream work are the shadow, the wise old man, the child, the mother (primordial mother and earth mother) and her counterpart the maiden, and lastly the anima in man and the animus in woman. Characteristics of the anima when manifested are fickle, capricious, moody, uncontrolled and emotional, sometimes gifted with intuitions, ruthless, malicious, untruthful, “bitchy,” double-faced, and mystical. The animus is obstinate, harping on principles, laying down the law, dogmatic, world-reforming, theoretic, argumentative, and domineering. Other familiar archetypes are the hero, and the trickster.

Use of Jungian Concepts Case Study

“John” is a single male, 25 year old law school student. He recently shared the following dream.

I was with my younger brother and my father. We were walking in the city near a park. As we approached the grassy area, I noticed that we were becoming covered with spiders that were coming up out of the ground. I was feeling very fearful in the dream. I began to climb a tree to escape the spiders. I thought that the height of the tree would protect me. I felt there was protection in the tree. Up ahead, I became aware of an older woman in sight. I knew that if I could reach the older woman, that I would not suffer harm from the spiders. I would be protected from the spiders.

The client was very perplexed about the meaning of the dream and was experiencing fear and anxiety, worried that the spiders foretold eminent harm that would injure his brother and father. He did not understand who the old woman was in the dream. Instead of focusing on the literal meaning of the dream characters and objects, I began to ask the client how the younger brother, the father, and the spiders REPRESENTED PARTS OF HIMSELF. As he reflected on this, he said that his younger brother had always been very good at establishing relationships. The younger brother had especially been successful in relationships with women whereas, “John” had always struggled in achieving successful relationships with the opposite sex. The father had a very successful and productive career and was always “John’s” hero. The client also shared that he had a great fear of spiders. He indicated that he was more afraid of spiders than even snakes.

After further explaining to the client that dream characters or objects
in the dream often represent parts of self, the client began to see the dream
very differently. He believed that the younger brother covered in spiders represented his extreme fear of establishing close relationships with women. In addition, the father covered with spiders represented the client’s fear and self doubt of being successful in his career as a lawyer. It was also revealed that the client’s grandmother had always been a very devoted and faithful Christian missionary and spiritual leader. The meaning of the dream to the client now took on a more spiritual tone. It was concluded that the dream now signified that fear (coming from an evil source or the underground) was overwhelming to the client in the area of dating relationships and career success. Looking at the dream not in literal terms, but more through the lenses of Jungian symbolism, the fear could be overcome by seeking the same Christian principles (moving up higher in the tree or cross) that he had witnessed within the life of his spiritual grandmother. The client’s anxiety and fear was immediately diminished as he thought about this new interpretation of the dream. “John” agreed that God was speaking to him
through his dream (the unconscious) that it was fear which was immobilizing his journey. By recognizing the fear, I was able to incorporate the principles of cognitive behavior therapy to assist the client to move forward with less fear and anxiety. I challenged “John” to identify negative, untruthful, self talk surrounding his ability to establish successful relationships, his career, and then to reframe his self to what is true and rational. The dream work appeared to help substantiate, legitimize, and add credibility for the need of reframing negative and false cognitions.

The session with the client was very dramatic for me in terms of observing an almost immediate successful outcome. The client had entered the session with palpable anxiety and had recently been paralyzed in terms of moving forward with relationships and law school.

Personal Dream Journal

Once I began to record my dreams in journal format, it became very apparent that I was experiencing repetitive themes and patterns related to “life’s journey.” Repetitive symbols in several of my dreams involve setting out on a journey with some destination in mind, riding in automobiles on a road and encountering obstacles on the journey. These obstacles eventually take me off of the main road which would lead to the destination and sidetracks me to some road leading to nowhere. The obstacles appear
as a variety of objects or situations including road construction, concrete
blocks, extremely high peaks with drop offs, and riding down extremely steep hills giving me the feeling that I’m about to be thrown out of the car. The most recent dream included being lost from the main road and I began to walk down a steep ravine which had a stream of water flowing. I could see the right road up beyond the ravine and water. However, there was no way to get my car on that road. I would have to walk. That meant carefully walking down the steep hill, crossing over the stream of water, and up the hill to the main road.

I believe these repetitive dreams represent attempts by my unconscious to speak to me about my life’s journey. The dreams are encouraging me to seek God in prayer and meditation for direction in my life at this stage of my journey. There are obstacles encountered which require careful navigation.

It has been very healthy for me to ask God for direction and to confirm
that I am on the “right road.”

Conclusion

Dreams are multilayered and reflect a host of interrelated meanings and each school of dream analysis is valid in their own right. Each theory highlights particular aspects of the psyche while obscuring others. Since each dream is special and unique, more than one theory may be needed to determine the full meaning of a dream. Integrating dream interpretation into counseling can promote client development, increase understanding between client and therapist, and improve self efficacy.

The consciousness is exposed to many distractions and seductions throughout the waking hours. The unconscious serves to counter
balance or establish and maintain equilibrium to compensate for imbalances in the mental equilibrium. Some experts believe that the primary purpose of the dream is compensation. If the unconscious is functioning to “compensate” for imbalances, it becomes even more critical to give attention and significance to dreams.

I believe there is a great need for specialized training and information regarding effective techniques for dream interpretation. There seems to be a dearth of clinical data and experience within this area of psychology and psychotherapy. Even though I have limited experience incorporating dream therapy, based on my session with “John” it appears to fit in perfectly with cognitive behavior therapy. The dream interpretation helps to identify messages from the unconscious which are trying to compensate for imbalances within the psyche. In the case of “John,” there was overwhelming fear (imbalance) which the unconscious was trying to help “John” identify and overcome.

Once the imbalance was identified, I could then utilize cognitive therapy model and provide “John” with tools to reframe his negative and anxious producing cognitions.

Rick Creasy

April 2, 2008