The clinical use of dream content in modern psychiatry
David Plevin, Virginia Munro
Australasian Psychiatry January 2, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/10398562241311926 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dream Content measure theory Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Dream content may have useful clinical and prognostic value in a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions. |
Abstract
ObjectiveThough there is a rich psychoanalytic tradition investigating the content and phenomenology of dreams, the clinical use of this has fallen into widespread disuse. We have undertaken a narrative review of the clinical significance and utility of dream content.FindingsDream content may have useful clinical and prognostic value in a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, REM sleep behaviour disorder, dementia, the culture-bound syndrome of Latah, and substance use.ConclusionsThis review highlights the importance of dream phenomenology in clinical practice. Building on the psychoanalytic tradition, the findings of our review should motivate clinicians to regularly enquire about dream content, in order to enhance diagnostic insights and formulations of patient presentations.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| Sleep and dreaming are for important matters | 2013 | Review | |
| Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis | 2020 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors | 1996 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Structural differences between REM and non-REM dream reports assessed by graph analysis PLoS One July 23, 2020
- Dream Recall Frequencies and Dream Content in Wilson’s Disease with and without REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder: A Neurooneirologic Study Behavioural Neurology 2016
- The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming. Cortex December 25, 2018
- What Is the Link Between Hallucinations, Dreams, and Hypnagogic-Hypnopompic Experiences? Schizophrenia Bulletin June 29, 2016
- Nightmare disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences February 1, 2008