Integration versus conflict between schools of dream theory and dreamwork: integrating the psychological core qualities of dreams with the contemporary knowledge of the dreaming brain.
Journal of Analytical Psychology February 1, 2020 Ole Vedfelt
Dream research and psychotherapy have historically been fragmented, with schools like Freudian, Jungian, existential, and cognitive approaches in conflict and largely disconnected from neuropsychological findings. This paper proposes that complex cybernetic information network theory can provide a unifying framework for dream research and dreamwork. Within this framework, ten core qualities of dreams are delineated, supported by therapeutic knowledge and scientific research: dreams deal with important matters, symbolize, personify, serve as safe trial runs, connect to unconscious intelligence, perform pattern recognition, enable high-level communication, condense information, provide experiences of wholeness, and represent psychological energy landscapes. The author describes dreamwork sequences from their practice and offers practical recommendations, arguing that dreams are a significant psychological resource.