Dream Recall and Dream Content in Obsessive-Compulsive Patients
Anne Katrin Kuelz, Ulrike Stotz, Dieter Riemann, Michael Schredl, Ulrich Voderholzer
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease August 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0b013e3181e9dd65 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Obsessive compulsive inpatients, obsessive compulsive outpatients, and healthy control participants |
| Intervention | Exposure and response prevention |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dream Obsessive compulsive Content measure theory Psychotherapist Clinical psychology Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Before treatment, OCD patients' dreams had significantly less positive content than healthy controls' dreams; under exposure treatment, OCD themes in dreams significantly decreased. |
Abstract
Very little is known about dreams in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder, especially regarding changes over the course of treatment with stimulus exposure and response prevention. By use of dream content analysis, 40 dreams of 9 obsessive compulsive (OC) inpatients were compared with 84 dreams of 10 matched OC outpatients and 63 dreams of 11 healthy control participants. Dream protocols of inpatients were collected at the beginning of treatment and after the first exposure exercises. Controls filled in dream protocols in respective intervals. Before treatment, dreams of patients showed significantly less positive contents than dreams of healthy controls. Under treatment with exposure, a significant reduction of OC themes was observed. The findings support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming by showing a link between day-time symptoms and OC symptoms in dreams. Contrary to expectations, however, exposure treatment does not intensify dreams.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Continuity between waking life and dreams of psychiatric patients A review and discussion of the implications for dream research University Library Heidelberg 2014
- Personality Functioning Improvement during Psychotherapy Is Associated with an Enhanced Capacity for Affect Regulation in Dreams: A Preliminary Study Brain Sciences May 11, 2024
- Dream recall frequency and psychosomatics. Acta bio-medica May 11, 2022
- Dream content and intrusive thoughts in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Psychiatry Research October 30, 2016