Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews Sigmund Freud's mechanisms of the dreamwork, such as condensation, displacement, rebus, and symbolization, but add mechanisms that Freud did not address by name, such as the many forms of metaphor and metonymy. It addresses what is the difference, in a psychotherapy session, between doing a thorough analysis of a dream, and focuses on a single aspect of the dream that will have a powerful effect in the moment? The book compares patients' dreams from the beginning and end of treatment. It discusses a method of analyzing dreams in groups, derived from the pioneering work of Montague Ullman. The book considers the ways we learn from dreams about how the mindbrain works, and how scientific study of the mindbrain can improve clinical psychoanalytic treatment.