Interpretation of Dreams- Freud method

Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed that the interpretation of dreams was the “Royal Road to the unconscious.” In examining the content of dreams, Freud developed a number of theories. Amongst these was the interpretation of subconscious thought and how this was expressed in a symbolic language in dreams to avoid the potentially disturbing or harmful content of the unconscious mind.

In his work, Freud categorised the mind into three main parts:

· The Id – which holds all desires, unchecked urges and the fulfilment of wishes;

· The Ego – this is interpreted as the conscious mind;

· The Superego – this exists to maintain censorship over the Id.

During wake time, the Superego functions to control the Id and to keep in check the impulses and desires it develops. In this way, the Superego could be seen as the ‘conscience’ of the mind. Conversely, during sleep periods and through the function of dreaming, one can be aware of the unconscious mind, the Id. Because dreams exist without the normal state of consciousness and conscience, the Id has the opportunity to push all hidden desires to the fore. However, such raw and unchecked desires can be so psychologically virulent that a ‘censor’ is employed by the mind to translate the Id’s values into a more acceptable form of symbolism. This self-induced protection functions to preserve the quality of sleep and prevent adverse reaction to uncontrolled dream imagery. Resultant, cryptic and confusing dreams can occur.

Therefore, if the dream itself can be understood more clearly this could lead to better understanding of the subconscious mind. Fundamentally, Freud believed that dreams constituted “the fulfilment of a wish.” He further proposed that dreams were comprised of two parts:

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