Part II    Psychodynamic Theories54
fei75766_ch02_019-071.indd 54  02/19/20 08:59 AMfeelings manifest themselves asinterest orlove,transference doesnotinterfere with
theprocess oftreatment butisapowerful allytothetherapeutic progress. Positive 
transference permits patients tomore orlessrelive childhood experiences within the
nonthreatening climate oftheanalytic treatment. However, negative transference in
theform ofhostility must berecognized bythetherapist andexplained topatients so
thattheycanovercome anyresistance totreatment (Freud, 1905/1953a, 1917/1963). 
Resistance, which refers toavariety ofunconscious responses usedbypatients to
block theirownprogress intherapy, canbeapositive signbecause itindicates that
therapy hasadvanced beyond superficial material.
Freud (1933/1964) noted several limitations ofpsychoanalytic treatment. First, 
notalloldmemories canorshould bebrought intoconsciousness. Second, treatment 
isnotaseffective withpsychoses orwithconstitutional illnesses asitiswithphobias, 
hysterias, andobsessions. Athird limitation, bynomeans peculiar topsychoanalysis, 
isthatapatient, once cured, maylaterdevelop another psychic problem. Recognizing 
these limitations, Freud feltthatpsychoanalysis could beusedinconjunction with
other therapies. However, herepeatedly insisted thatitcould notbeshortened or
modified inanyessential way.
Ideally, when analytic treatment issuccessful, patients nolonger suffer from 
debilitating symptoms, theyusetheirpsychic energy toperform egofunctions, and
theyhaveanexpanded egothatincludes previously repressed experiences. They do
notexperience amajor personality change, buttheydobecome what theymight have
been under themost favorable conditions.
Dream Analysis
Freud useddream analysis totransform themanifest content ofdreams tothemore 
important latent content. Themanifest content ofadream isthesurface meaning or
theconscious description given bythedreamer, whereas thelatent content refers to
itsunconscious material.
Thebasic assumption ofFreud’s dream analysis isthatnearly alldreams are
wish fulfillments .Some wishes areobvious andareexpressed through themanifest 
content, aswhen aperson goestosleep hungry anddreams ofeating large quantities 
ofdelicious food. Most wishfulfillments, however, areexpressed inthelatent content 
andonlydream interpretation canuncover thatwish. Anexception totherulethat
dreams arewishfulfillments isfound inpatients suffering from atraumatic expe-
rience. Dreams ofthese people follow theprinciple ofrepetition compulsion rather 
thanwishfulfillment. These dreams arefrequently found inpeople withposttraumatic 
stress disorder whorepeatedly dream offrightening ortraumatic experiences (Freud, 
1920/1955a, 1933/1964).
Freud believed thatdreams areformed intheunconscious buttrytowork their
wayintotheconscious. Tobecome conscious, dreams must slippastboththepri-
mary andthefinalcensors (refer again toFigure 2.1).Even during sleep these guard -
iansmaintain theirvigil, forcing unconscious psychic material toadopt adisguised 
form. Thedisguise canoperate intwobasic ways—condensation anddisplacement.
Condensation refers tothefactthatthemanifest dream content isnotasexten -
siveasthelatent level, indicating thattheunconscious material hasbeen abbrevi -
atedorcondensed before appearing onthemanifest level. Displacement means thatFinal PDF to printer