Author Description

Freud's elegant dream theory created the field of psychoanalysis more than 100 years ago. At the same time, it enabled psychoanalysts to ask questions which continue to stimulate innovations in theory and clinical work today. However, dream work in psychoanalytic practice has lost its central place in treatment. Many non-psychoanalysts - and some psychoanalysts - question the value of dream work in clinical practice. Some consider transference, countertransference, conflict, defense, or interaction within the analytic setting as key foci of analytic attention. The authors of this volume see a particular value in dream interpretation as a means of deepening psychoanalytic work and as a means of observing and evaluating psychoanalytic process. With these psychoanalytic values in mind, and with an interest in exploring the boundaries of psychoanalytic work, the authors undertook a conceptual and cultural journey to examine dream interpretation methods in cultures other than North America. They have traced a path at the boundaries of psychoanalytic work in the 21st Century, traveling to remote locations, exploring indigenous forms of dream interpretation, seeking to locate the subjective self of the dreamer, and situating dreaming within the sphere of a social group (e.g. social dreaming). They elevate the place of dream interpretation today.