Personality Functioning Improvement during Psychotherapy Is Associated with an Enhanced Capacity for Affect Regulation in Dreams: A Preliminary Study
Brain Sciences May 11, 2024 Simon Kempe, Werner Köpp, Lutz Wittmann 3 citations
Improvement in personality functioning during long-term psychotherapy is associated with an increased ability to regulate affects in dreams. In a longitudinal study of ten patients with initial impairment of personality functioning, 94 dream reports from the first versus last third of therapy were analyzed. Patients showed greater capacity for affect regulation in dreams, evident in three core features: complexity of dream elements, affective involvement of the dream ego, and flexibility in regulating safety/involvement dynamics. This pattern was especially pronounced in a subgroup of seven patients with more marked improvements in personality functioning. The findings suggest that dream reports can illuminate important aspects of treatment progress.