Psychoanalytic dream interpretation and Waldhorn (1967) have downgraded Freud's classical view of dreams from extremely important to being on a level playing field with other psychological phenomena. Developments in REM research (Ellman and Antrobus, 1991) have also played a part in diminishing dreams importance in both clinical and theoretical psychoanalysis. For psychoanalysts dreams can present a challenge as their interpretation often can overwhelm other aspects of a patients problem and take up much of the time spent on the patient, and in many cases interpretations served the interpreter and not the patient. Dream discussion has taken a back seat to the discussion of
Psychology of religion and dreams different psychologists claim there is very little evidence to the research on the psychology of religion and dreams. The contemporary 21st century has brought about a scientific materialism that can be detrimental to understanding the concept of dreams and how to interpret them. Traditionally, the concept of dreaming and interpreting dreams through religious means is universal. Some of the cultures around the world consider dream interpretation through their religious views as a means of spiritual discipline. A psychological view of this connection between religious views and dream interpretation stems from analyzing the content of dreams. The continuity theory has proposed