ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is designed for therapists who wish to use dream analysis as a psychotherapeutic technique and for laypeople who are interested in the field of dream interpretation. It provides guidelines for ethical psychotherapeutic interpretation of dreams. Although it has already been stated that anyone could benefit from dream self-analysis, it seems reasonable to assume that one could benefit more from dream analysis with a trained professional. Certainly other disciplines, like biology, chemistry, and evolutionary sciences contribute to the understanding of dreams, but psychology, since its inception, has been a home for the study of dreaming and dream interpretation. Ernest Hartmann is a contemporary sleep and dream researcher. He is a world-renowned expert on the biology of dreaming, but more recently in his career he extended his interests to dreams and nightmares.
