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private psychotherapy practice

Dream Interpretation

Human beings experience dreams when sleeping; these occur during rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep). Although we all have dreams, on waking it is often difficult to remember what they were about. One way of assisting the retention of the content of dreams is to have a pencil and pad by the bedside and record them immediately on waking.

Patients who are in psychotherapy are likely to remember their dreams more clearly when they have a therapist who emphasises their importance. The reason that dreams are so significant is that they are a link to the unconscious mind. Although dreams appear to contain a range of unconnected material, the patient and the therapist working together can begin to understand and make sense of the various fragments.

The simplest type of dream is referred to as a “wish fulfilment dream”. Here the subject dreams of something that he or she wishes were true. For example some one who is anxious about their forth-coming examinations might dream that the examinations are over and that he or she has passed. People who have failing vision may dream that they can see perfectly, while the starving frequently dream about food. Alternatively, a person who has great difficulty in social situations might dream that they are the life and soul of the party. These are all simple dreams, which are self-explanatory. However, dreams are very often much more complex than this and require expert interpretation.

Patients often believe that all they have to do is to present the dream to the therapist and that he or she will automatically be able to give an immediate interpretation. This is an unrealistic expectation on the part of the patient. In order to interpret a dream the patient needs to work with the therapist in a psychotherapeutic context to unravel the associations which link the dream with the unconscious. This can prove to be extremely helpful to the patient in that material, which was unconscious in the dream, has been brought into their conscious mind. It is particularly important in relation to recurring dreams as these signify that there is some very important unconscious material, which needs to be analysed.

DENTAL PHOBIA

People who are terrified to go to the dentist may put of their visit for 20 years or more and only contemplate making an appointment when they are driven to by severe toothache or extreme concern about the state of their teeth. On investigation, in many cases it is found that the patient has had a traumatic experience when visiting the dentist as a child.

Hypnotherapy is very valuable in assisting these patients to counteract their fears and in enabling them to visit their dentist for treatment without anxiety.

There are a number of dentists who use hypnotherapy routinely in their practice not only for allaying anxiety but also for pain control.

DEPRESSION 

Patients who are depressed may show their depression in many different ways. While a large number of patients do feel unhappy, miserable, weepy and in severe cases suicidal, some patients will not present with these symptoms and therefore may not recognise that they are depressed. Such patients often complain of insomnia, inability to concentrate, or irritability.

When making a diagnosis of depression, it is important to ensure that there is no underlying medical condition which may be responsible for the patient's unhappiness. Some prescribed drugs can give rise to feelings of depression and a number of women going through the menopause find that they experience severe depressive symptoms which are correctable with Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Many patients complaining of depression are offered antidepressant medication by their General Practitioners. However, there are those patients who do not wish to take tablets for their problems, or find that the medication given them does not help them.

For patients who are looking for alternative forms of treatment for their depression psychotherapy and hypnotherapy have proved very helpful in alleviating their symptoms.

DRIVING PHOBIA

One of the main causes of driving phobia is being involved in a road traffic accident. However, on occasions individuals develop a driving phobia after a narrow escape where there was a potential for an accident which did not actually happen.

People who suffer from driving phobia find it particularly difficult to drive on motorways because the exits are far apart and they feel trapped. If this remains untreated this anxiety may spread to other roads and eventually limits the driver to short distances on familiar roads where they are able to stop the car at any time. In severe cases the individual may stop driving altogether and may find it difficult even to get into a vehicle.

Hypnotherapy is very valuable for treating driving phobia. During the treatment sessions the patient is hypnotised and encouraged to imagine a series of situations involving driving. It is important that when the patient practices driving in real life after the session that a competent driver travels with them. This gives the patient confidence and reassurance that, if they are unable to continue driving, the other driver can always take over. Some patients prefer to book a course of driving lessons with an instructor.

In addition to the hypnotherapy it may well be necessary to incorporate some individual psychotherapy into the treatment programme.

During the course of the treatment the patient gradually learns to drive first on familiar routes and then later to venture onto A roads and motorways further field. In this way suffers from driving phobia can look forward to a complete recovery and drive wherever they wish.



Dr. Thomas Kraft