Symbolism & Dream AnalysisLesson 04: Symbolism and & Dream Analysis

Starter: Recap What might the mnemonic ‘Second’ mean?

Secondary

Elaboration

CONdensation

Displacement

Lesson objectives To analyse various ‘common’ symbols in dreams and

interpret their meaning.

To examine the other components of Psychoanalysis (slip of the tongue and free association) and apply these to psychological therapies…

Symbolism

What might each of these symbols

mean?Why?

Part 1 - Symbolism

Snakes A sign of trouble A phallic symbol A symbol of death

Guns Guns are linked to males – power, aggression, sexuality If you possess a gun it suggests that you want power If you are threatened by a gun, it may mean someone is

bullying you

Clothes Clothes are linked to how we think people perceive us Inappropriate dress suggest you feel unprepared

Knives Knives represent cutting, physical or through verbal remarks You may feel cut off

Lifts Lifts usually represent something going wrong, it might

represent progress with an aspect of your life and that you feel something is going wrong (trapped, out of control).

Task Look back at the dreams of Ida Bauer and the Wolf Man.

Reread these dreams and now analyse them for the following:

Symbols (including their meaning) Secondary elaboration Condensation Displacement

The Wolf Man

Part 2 - Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis Three methods of psychoanalysis

Slip of the tongue Free association Dream analysis

It was (is) believed that a person uses energy to repress their wishes and desires and psychoanalysis uses methods to uncover these wishes and desires.

Slip of the tongue (Freudian Slip) describes the moment when someone uses one word when meaning another.

Free association is where someone is asked to say their thoughts out loud, without controlling them.

The analyst can look for associations between thou- ghts and ideas.

Task Write a (comedy) script for a session of psychoanalysis. I want

you to include all of the key themes/ideas covered so far: Manifest and latent content Dreamwork – secondary elaboration, displacement,

condensation Symbols Slips of the tongue Free association

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