Contexts of dream interpretation among American therapists and pastoral counselors
Author: Dombeck, Mary Therese B.,
Source:
Dreaming, Vol 4(1), Mar 1994. pp. 29-42.
Dream interpreters in 3 different contexts were asked to give their opinions about the same dream. The 1st context was described in a study by B. Kilborne (1978, 1981) in Morocco, the 2nd was based on part of a study (M-T. B. Dombeck, 1991) done in 2 community mental health centers, and the 3rd context was a pastoral counseling agency in the US. The interpreters in these studies were 9 Moroccans, 18 American psychotherapists, and 9 American counselors with a religious orientation, respectively. The interpretations were all of the same dream and were compared with those of Freud (1900). Most of the therapists knew how to interpret the dream. Their interpretations were remarkably similar to each other's and were like Freud's, yet each believed their interpretations were discovered by themselves. Freudian interpretation and terminology were accepted as obvious, yet many of the interpreters asserted that they were not influenced by anyone.