Sleep and Vigilance
August 25, 2017
Milton Kramer
The Talmudic 'Dream Book' treats dreams as prophetic and future-oriented, contrasting with Freud's past-oriented, childhood-focused view. Dream meaning arises from interpretation, not the text itself, and is over-determined, with word play used by both Rabbis and modern interpreters. The dream experience reflects the dreamer's psychology, and dreams of ordinary people are included alongside those of royalty. Good and bad dreams mirror the dreamer's moral nature; bad dreams can be prevented from fulfillment, and unrecalled dreams can be addressed through daily prayers. Concerns about false interpreters are noted, and sexual dreams are represented symbolically. Many modern dream concepts have precursors in this work.
The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
January 1, 2011
Myron L Glucksman, Milton Kramer
The initial dream reported in psychotherapy provides clinically useful information. Analyzing 63 patients' first treatment dreams, independent evaluators found that these dreams almost always contain negative emotions. The psychodynamic themes in these dreams reliably predict core issues that emerge later in therapy. Transference—feelings toward the therapist—is evident in many initial dreams and is often negative. The most common dream themes fall into relational or injury categories. These themes, along with positive or negative transference, relate to how well patients progress in therapy. The findings confirm that the first dream reported in treatment offers significant predictive and clinical information.
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
January 1, 2007
Lutz Wittmann, Michael Schredl, Milton Kramer
Up to 70% of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report posttraumatic nightmares, yet polysomnographic studies show that neither this high rate nor the timing of nightmares across the sleep cycle is explained by altered REM sleep parameters. The idea that reduced dream recall might be a coping mechanism in PTSD is questionable. About 50% of posttraumatic dreams exactly replicate the traumatic event, so dream content is not stereotypical. Data on non-replicative dreams and changes in dream content over time are preliminary. Posttraumatic dreams are linked to psychopathology. Imagery Rehearsal Therapy has repeatedly proven valuable for treating posttraumatic dream disturbance. Understanding these dreams is essential for theories of PTSD and the function of dreaming.
The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
January 1, 2006
Milton Kramer, Myron L Glucksman
Affect is central to understanding dreams, but it is unclear whether affective or narrative aspects drive dream development. In 24 patients who completed psychoanalytic treatment, affect appeared in 58.3% of manifest dream reports. The valence of affect became more positive over treatment, rising from 19.2% in the first dream report to 53.3% in the last. When affect was absent from a dream report, associations to the dream contained affect 94.1% of the time. Overall, affect was present in either the dream report or its associations 97.9% of the time. The positive shift in affect likely results from psychotherapy, though psychotropic medication (used by 46% of patients at the last dream report) and the passage of time may also contribute.
The International Journal of Aging and Human Development
May 1, 1975
Milton Kramer, Thomas Roth, John Trinder
Among chronic brain syndrome patients, dream recall rates differ by severity of organic impairment and age. Mildly organic patients recalled 57% of dreams, severely organic middle-aged patients recalled 35%, and aged severely organic patients recalled only 8%. The difference between mild and severe middle-aged groups was not statistically significant, but the aged severely organic group's recall was significantly lower than either middle-aged group. Dream content also differed between mild and severe middle-aged groups and between all patients and normal young men.