You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The title of this book accurately describes its contents. Grinstein has collected, from various sources in the Collected Works, the essential rules for working with dreams. The presentation is so accurate and clearly written that it would make an excellent text from which to study for an exam.
In addition to reviewing Freud's rules, Grinstein offers illuminating examples from his own practice to demonstrate how the rules are applied. Although Grinstein warns us that dreams cannot be interpreted without the patient's associations, he shows himself (as did Freud) to be adept at understanding typical dreams as well as the symbols, metaphors, word play and other operations of the dream work. Furthermore, he displays tact and sensitivity in dealing with his patients' dreams. He offers only what the patient can hear without narcissistic injury and is alert to the transference (including the negative transference) meaning. His major aim in dealing with dreams appears to be to elicit more information about the patient's past life and infantile conflicts. Grinstein talks to the patient in an honest, rational and straightforward manner in an appeal to the rational ego; there is no effort to mobilize or resolve resistance through the use of emotional communication.
This book is not innovative, but it performs a valuable service in clearly presenting an up-to-date version of classical dream analysis.
Modern analysts may find it unfortunate that their own contributions to dream analysis have not yet reached the general professional