https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2021.543
Esoteric power, useless, useful: considerations about dreams in cognitive-behavioural therapy
Submitted: March 17, 2021
Accepted: July 24, 2021
Published: August 30, 2021
Accepted: July 24, 2021
Abstract Views: 1584
PDF: 794
HTML: 91
HTML: 91
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
For a long time dreamwork in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) was considered useless and as a technique specific to psychodynamic approaches, consequently overlooked in the treatment course. In the last twenty years, thanks to the contribution of neuroscience studies on sleep and dreams, dreams joined the attention and interest of authors belonging to the CBT field. The central feature of dreamwork in CBT is the abandonment of the exploration of latent meaning, which is instead considered in continuity with the waking life. Dreams reflect a patient’s view of self, world, and future, and are subject to the same cognitive biases as the waking state. Consequently, the dreamwork can be used to get information about the patient, overcome impasses in therapy, restructure self and interpersonal schemas, and stimulate reflective functioning. Therefore, guidelines have been defined and models of well-articulated intervention in terms of process and content, replicable and teachable through specific training structured. This paper aims to provide an overview of theories regarding the use of dreams in CBT, from a clinical perspective, from Beck to more recent proposals.
Adler, A. (1927). The practice and theory of individual psychology. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
Alford, B. A., & Norcross, J. C. (1991). Cognitive therapy as integrative therapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 1(3), 175-190. doi: 10.1037/h0101234.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0101234
Alford, B. A., Beck, A. T., & Jones Jr, J. V. (1997). The integrative power of cognitive therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.11.4.309
Bara, B.G. (2012). Dimmi come sogni. Interpretazione emotiva dell’esperienza onirica. Milano: Mondadori.
Barrett, D. (2002). The ‘royal road’ becomes a shrewd shortcut: The use of dreams in focused treatment. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 16(1), 55-63. doi: 10.1891/jcop.16.1.55.63701.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/jcop.16.1.55.63701
Bear, M.F., Connors, B.W., & Paradiso M.A. (2020). Neuroscience, exploring the Brain. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression. Clinical, Experimental and Theoretical Aspects. New York, NY: Hoeber Inc.
Beck, A. T. (2002). Cognitive patterns in dreams and daydreams. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 16(1), 23. doi: 10.1891/jcop.16.1.23.63703.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/jcop.16.1.23.63703
Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, research & practice, 16(3), 252-260. doi: 10.1037/h0085885.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0085885
Carcione, A., Nicolò, G., & Semerari, A. (2021). Complex Cases of Personality Disorders: Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy. New York, NY: Springer. [In press].
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70455-1
Caroppo, E., Dimaggio, G. G., Popolo, R., Salvatore, G., & Ruggeri, G. (1997). Recurrent oneiric themes: A clinical research on dream evaluation during psychotherapy. New trends in experimental and clinical psychiatry, 13, 275-278.
Cartwright, R. (1977). Night life: Explorations in dreaming. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Centonze, A., Cheli, S., & Dimaggio, G. (2019). Il ruolo del sogno nel promuovere un cambiamento (cosciente) degli schemi interpersonali. Giornale italiano di psicologia, 46(3), 491-496. doi: 10.1421/94511.
De Gennaro, L., Marzano, C., Cipolli, C., & Ferrara, M. (2012). How we remember the stuff that dreams are made of: neurobiological approaches to the brain mechanisms of dream recall. Behavioural brain research, 226(2), 592-596. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.10.017.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.10.017
Diemer, R. A., Lobell, L. K., Vivino, B. L., & Hill, C. E. (1996). Comparison of dream interpretation, event, interpretation, and unstructured sessions in brief therapy. Journal of counseling psychology, 43(1), 99-112. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.43.1.99.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.43.1.99
Dimaggio, G.G., Popolo, R., Serio, A.V., & Ruggeri, G. (1997). Dream emotional experience changes and psychotherapeutic process: An experimental contribu- tion. New Trends in Experimental and Clinical Psychiatry, 8(4), 271-273.
Dimaggio, G. (2004). La riscrittura della mappa del mondo. In G. Rezzonico, D. Liccione (Eds.), Sogni e psicoterapia. L’uso del materiale onirico in psicoterapia cognitiva (pp. 267-276). Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
Dimaggio, G., Montano, A., Popolo, R., & Salvatore, S. (2015). Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy for Personality Disorder: A Treatment Manual. New York, NY: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315744124.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315744124
Domhoff, G. W. (2005). Refocusing the neurocognitive approach to dreams: a critique of the Hobson versus Solms debate. Dreaming, 15(1), 3. doi: 10.1037/1053-0797.15.1.3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1053-0797.15.1.3
Eiser, A. S. (2005). Physiology and psychology of dreams. Seminars in neurology, 25(1), 97-105.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2005-867078
Eudell‐Simmons, E. M., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2005). A review of empirical research supporting four conceptual uses of dreams in psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice, 12(4), 255-269. doi: 10.1002/cpp.445.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.445
Freeman, A., & White, B. (2002). Dreams and the dream image: Using dreams in cognitive therapy. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 16(1), 39-54. doi: 10.1891/jcop.16.1.39.63706.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/jcop.16.1.39.63706
Fosshage, J. L. (1983). The psychological function of dreams: A revised psychoanalytic perspective. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 6(4), 641-669.
Fosshage, J. L. (2002). A relational self-psychological perspective. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 47(1), 67-82. doi: 10.1111/1465-5922.00289.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1465-5922.00289
Guidano, V.F. (1987). Complexity of the Self. New York, NY: Guilford (Tr. It.: La complessità del Sé. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1988).
Guidano, V. (1991). The Self in process:Toward a post-rationalist cognitive therapy. New York, NY: Guilford (Tr. It.: Il Sé nel suo divenire. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1992).
Hall, C.S., & Nordby, V.J. (1972) The Individual and His Dreams. New York, NY: New American Library.
Hill, C. E., Diemer, R., Hess, S., Hillyer, A., & Seeman, R. (1993). Are the effects of dream interpretation on session quality, insight, and emotions due to the dream itself, to projection, or to the interpretation process? Dreaming, 3(4), 269-280. doi: 10.1037/h0094385.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0094385
Hill, C. E. (1996). Working with dreams in psychotherapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hill, C. E., Diemer, R. A., & Heaton, K. J. (1997). Dream interpretation sessions: Who volunteers, who benefits, and what volunteer clients view as most and least helpful. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(1), 53-62. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.44.1.53.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.44.1.53
Hill, C.E., & Rochlen, A. B. (2002). The Hill cognitive-experiential model of dream interpretation. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 16(1), 75-89. doi: 10.1891/jcop.16.1.75.63705.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/jcop.16.1.75.63705
Hill, C.E., & Knox, S. (2010). The use of dreams in modern psychotherapy. International review of neurobiology, 92, 291-317. doi: 10.1016/S0074-7742(10)92013-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7742(10)92013-8
Hobson J.A., & McCarley R.W. (1977). The brain as a dream state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(12), 1335-1348. doi: 10.1176/ajp.134.12.1335.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.134.12.1335
Hobson, J.A. (2009). REM sleep and dreaming: towards a theory of protoconsciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(11), 803-813. doi: 10.1038/nrn2716.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2716
Horvath, A.O. (2013). You can’t step into the same river twice, but you can stub your toes on the same rock: Psychotherapy outcome from a 50-year perspective. Psychoterapy, 50(1), 25-32. doi: 10.1037/a0030899.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030899
Kramer, M., & Glucksman, M. L. (Eds.). (2015). Dream research: Contributions to clinical practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315761640
Liotti, G. (2004). L’uso del materiale onirico in psicoterapia cognitiva. In Rezzonico G., Liccione D. (Eds.), Sogni e psicoterapia. L’uso del materiale onirico in psicoterapia cognitiva (pp. 240-251). Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
Mahoney, M. J. (1995). Cognitive and constructive psychotherapies. Theory, research, and practice. New York, NY, Washington, DC: Springer Publishing Company, Inc. and American Psychological Association.
Migone, P. (2019). La psicoanalisi e il sogno. Giornale italiano di psicologia, 46(3), 561-566. doi: 10.1421/94523.
Montangero, J. (2009). Using dreams in cognitive behavioural psychotherapy: Theory, method, and examples. Dreaming, 19(4), 239-254. doi: 10.1037/a0017613.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017613
Panksepp, J. (2000). ‘The dream of reason creates monsters’... especially when we neglect the role of emotions in REM-states. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 988-990. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X00764028.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00764028
Pesant, N., & Zadra, A. (2004). Working with dreams in therapy: What do we know and what should we do? Clinical psychology review, 24(5), 489-512. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2004.05.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2004.05.002
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: an evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioural and Brain Science, 23, 6, 877-901.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00004015
Revonsuo, A., & Valli, K. (2008). How to test the threat-simulation theory. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(4), 1292-1296. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2008.01.007.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2008.01.007
Rezzonico, G., & Bani, M. (2015). L’uso dei sogni in psicoterapia cognitivo-comportamentale: a che punto siamo? Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 21(3), 285-301.
Rosner, R. I. (1997). Cognitive therapy, constructivism, and dreams: A critical review. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 10(3), 249-273. doi: 10.1080/10720539708404625.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10720539708404625
Rosner, R. I., Lyddon, W. J., & Freeman, A. (2004). Cognitive therapy and dreams: An introduction. Cognitive therapy and dreams, 3-8.
Safran, J. D., & Segal, Z. V. (1990). Interpersonal process in cognitive therapy. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Saliani, A.M. (2021). La relazione terapeutica: tra psicoterapia cognitiva e control-mastery theory. In Perdighe, C., & Gragnani, A. (Eds.), Psicoterapia cognitiva. Comprendere e curare i disturbi emotivi, Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
Schredl, M., Bohusch, C., Kahl, J., Mader, A., & Somesan, A. (2000). The use of dreams in psychotherapy: A survey of psychotherapists in private practice. The Journal of psychotherapy practice and research, 9(2), 81.
Siegel, J. M. (2001). The REM sleep-memory consolidation hypothesis. Science, 294(5544), 1058-1063. doi: 10.1126/science.1063049.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1063049
Skrzypińska, D., & Szmigielska, B. (2018). Dreams in cognitive-behavioural therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy and clinical applications, 6, 97-115. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.70893.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70893
Vedfelt, O. (2020). Integration versus conflict between schools of dream theory and dreamwork: integrating the psychological core qualities of dreams with the contemporary knowledge of the dreaming brain. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 65(1), 88-115. doi: 10.1111/1468-5922.12574.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5922.12574
Velotti, P., & Zavattini, G. C. (2019). È ancora attuale l’uso del sogno nella pratica clinica? Giornale italiano di psicologia, 46(3), 433-462. doi: 10.1421/94505.
Voss, U., Schermelleh-Engel, K., Windt, J., Frenzel, C., & Hobson, A. (2013). Measuring consciousness in dreams: the lucidity and consciousness in dreams scale. Consciousness and Cognition, 22(1), 8-21. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.11.001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2012.11.001
Wampold, B. E. (2015). How important are the common factors in psychoterapy? An up-date. World Psychiatry, 14(3): 270-7. doi: 10.1002/wps.20238.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20238
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema Therapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
How to Cite
Carcione, A., Santonastaso, M., Sferruzza, F., & Riccardi, I. (2021). Esoteric power, useless, useful: considerations about dreams in cognitive-behavioural therapy. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2021.543
Copyright (c) 2021 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Fabienne Gutjahr, Cord Benecke, Crying in psychotherapy: an exploratory mixed-methods study on forms of emotional crying and associated therapeutic interventions , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2024)
- Tomáš Řiháček, Jan Roubal, Katarína Motalová, Facets of the psychotherapy relationship: a metaphorical approach , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2020)
- Fabiola Bizzi, Francesca Locati, Laura Parolin, Shmueli Goetz Yael, Emanuela Brusadelli, Advancement in the child attachment interview and the child and adolescent reflective functioning scale using a PDM-2 framework: case reports , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 25 No. 1 (2022)
- Vittorio Lenzo, Maria Teresa Gargano, Massimo Mucciardi, Girolamo Lo Verso, Maria C. Quattropani, Clinical Efficacy and Therapeutic Alliance in a Time-Limited Group Therapy for Young Adults , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 17 No. 1 (2014)
- Gianluca Cruciani, Marianna Liotti, Vittorio Lingiardi, Motivations to become psychotherapists: beyond the concept of the wounded healer , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 27 No. 2 (2024)
- Jessica L. Borelli, Lyric N. Russo, Jose Arreola, Breana R. Cervantes, Christina M. Marquez, Gloria Montiel, Vanessa Avalos, Jacqueline Carballo, Jackie Garcia, Isha Bhatt, Gina Torres, Francisca Leal, Nancy Guerra, Saving a seat at the table for community members: co-creating an attachment-based intervention for low-income Latinx parent-youth dyads using a promotor/a model , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 25 No. 1 (2022)
- Maria Eugenia Moneta, Horst Kaechele, A theoretical and clinical perspective of an embodied view in psychotherapy of somatic symptoms disorders , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 26 No. 2 (2023)
- Mahbobe Ghavidel Heydari, Mahmoud Shirazi, Gholam Reza Sanagouyemoharer, The effect of positive psychotherapy in test anxiety among Zahedan students with hemophilia , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 21 No. 1 (2018)
- Irene Messina, Pietro Spataro, Alessandro Grecucci, Danielle M. Moskow, Cristina Marogna, Stefan G. Hofmann, Interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire: psychometric properties of the Italian version and associations with psychopathology , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 25 No. 2 (2022)
- Zelda Gillian Knight, My story in response to the stories of my patients’ experience of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a relational psychoanalytic approach , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2020)
<< < 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
