This inspiring new book covers the practical side of dream interpretation during the therapeutic consultation. It aids the understanding of sleep and dreams in a scientific context and provides and introduction to the biological and evolutionary foundations of sleep, dreams and dream interpretation, supporting its use in professional counselling. "Dream Interpretation as a Psychotherapeutic Technique" covers cultural, historical and religious foundations of dreams and dream interpretation, and gives an overview of the various dream interpretation theories. Psychotherapists and psychiatrists with an interest in dream interpretation will find this guide invaluable. It will also be of great interest to psychologists, counsellors, therapists and general readers. 'Excellent and very accessible, helpful, useful and flexible. I would recommend this book to any student or beginning therapist interested in working with dreams.' - Ernest Hartmann, in the Foreword. 'This is an essential book on sleep, dreams, and dream interpretation. It will reawaken dream interpretation in clinical practice as a pragmatic tool for client self-awareness.' - T Gayle Yamazki. 'A life-long student of dreams brings decades of research and practice to bear in this scholarly and fascinating work. Coolidge reveals ancient writings, the influence of human evolution on our dream life, and the latest scientific insights. In the tradition of Freud, Jung, and Perls, he uses disarming personal examples, as well as those of his subjects to teach principles of dream interpretation. The practical steps he has developed quickly enrich the therapy process.' - Michael Galvin.

Dreams told in the group are conjoint individual and group creations. They are both influenced by the group atmosphere and may in turn influence it and the individual, promoting change and development. Dreams have a deepening effect on therapeutic work and, due to their unconscious content, they may represent the most authentic exchange between individual and group. This state-of-the-art book provides help for therapists encountering a dream told in their group. It covers the major theoretical perspectives for their understanding, as well as representing different psychological schools and their approaches to the technical issues of group dream therapy. Despite the variety of sources, the clinical approaches described complement each other, and the book details many case studies, including a first dream in the group, an unconscious meeting between women and men, and other polarities within the individual and the group.

For both students and practicing counselors, this book fills the gaps that exist between many current academic programs and practitioner’s needs for focused training on how to better assist clients with dream interpretations. Its main focus is on dreams concerning family members and other major figures in the dreamer's life with whom he or she interacts. Readers will first learn how to understand and use their own dreams, and then how to apply this in order to facilitate their clients’ interpretations of dreams. They will be amazed and fascinated by the issues, emotions, and problem-solving suggestions that are often revealed as they guide their clients' use of a personalized dream interpretation method developed by the author. Through the use of a detailed case example of a client and her dreams, the author shows how each step of this method can be applied and carried out in practice and is easily integrated with contemporary psychotherapies, especially cognitive behavior therapies.

"This book is a 'royal road' to knowledge and technique for all those interested in developing and refining their therapeutic skills in working with dreams. Dr. Conigliaro's masterful treatise brings the unconscious alive by giving instructive and vivid examples of his particular technique. His psychodynamic, phenomenological, and existential approach brings dream work into the 21st century without diminishing its classical origins. Must reading for the mental health professional." -- Albert J. Brok, Ph.D.

This monograph focuses on a systemic approach to dream interpretation and the unique importance of the initial dream. The first dream reported in a psychoanalytic therapy session poignantly encapsulates the major issues that the patient brings to the treatment. These dreams 'herald' the trajectory of the treatment and can be interpreted in the service of psychodynamic diagnosis and prognosis.The book melds aspects of Jungian dream analysis, with neo-Freudian analytic thought, current neurobiological concepts, and Buddhist psychology, to yield a rich and powerful understanding of how dreams symbolize the multifaceted aspects of the psyche. Multiple examples of initial dreams are discussed in detail, with suggestions for how they can inform the analytic stance and serve as objects for analysis over the course of a treatment.

Dreams have captivated human imagination throughout the time. However, in the year 1900, dreams also gained an important place in psychotherapy when Sigmund Freud proposed that dreams were the royal road to the unconscious. The following book presents an overview of the history of dreams and discusses the shift from the use of latent content to that of the manifest content during dream analysis. Additionally, various methods of dream interpretation, the functions of dreams, differing schools of thought on the utility of dreams, typical dreams, and the biological challenge to dream theory are discussed. From antiquity, the universal phenomena of dreaming has captivated human imagination, confused human logic, and controlled human endeavors. Dreams have been regarded as very important, as messages from the gods, predictive of the future, expiatory of guilt, and the voice of conscience. Shamans, seers, and saints have used dreams to discern the source of sickness or to set the course of nations. Poets, philosophers, and playwrights have sought to plumb the depths of dreams in order to lure audience or readers into the world of fantasy, to play the strings of the emotions, and to recall the unthinkable. Cognitive, information processing, and neuroscientists find in dreams brain activity that can help understand REM, memory consolidation, and the "unconscious" state.