The clinical usage and theoretical understanding of the nature and function of the dream within dynamic psychiatry has changed markedly in recent years. Increasingly, there seems to be an emphasis on what is metaphorically shown in the manifest dream about the psychological state of the individual rather than by what psychological characteristics or features of the individual may be disguised in or by the dream. The manifest content of the dream, its images and symbols, is now felt to be an aid in what may be described as a monitoring of the state of the self and its changes over time.

Historical trends, clinical formulations, and research findings that have contributed to and/or provide support for this shift in emphasis in the clinical use of dreams are presented, along with implications and challenges of this view of the meaning and function of dreams for theory and research.