Psychoanalytic Phenomenology of the Dream

The extension of psychoanalytic treatment beyond the classical psychoneuroses to other forms of psychopathology has, in recent years, greatly enriched both the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. In concert with this “widening scope of psychoanalysis,” important new conceptualizations of personality development and pathogenesis have been offered—theoretical contributions that, in turn, have held critical implications for psychoanalytic technique. The theory and practice of dream analysis, by contrast, has in general not kept pace with the conceptual and technical advances occurring within our field. While certain authors have examined the communicative aspect of dreams (Ferenczi, 1913; Kanzer, 1955; Bergmann, 1966) and others have attempted to update the theory of dreams to accommodate the tripartite structural model (Arlow and Brenner, 1964; Spanjaard, 1969), there have been few new major contributions to the psychoanalytic understanding of dreams since those of Freud (1900).1

It is our intention in the present paper to elaborate a theoretical point of view that we think holds great promise as a source of important new insights into the meaning and significance of dreams. This point of view has evolved in the context of ongoing efforts to construct the foundation for a new psychoanalytic theory of personality (see Stolorow and Atwood, in press). Our efforts have been guided by three general considerations.