The use of dreams in psychotherapy: a survey of psychotherapists in private practice.

Since the publication of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, dream interpretation has been a standard technique often used in psychotherapy. However, empirical studies about the frequency of working on dreams in therapy are lacking. The present study elicited, via a self-developed questionnaire, various aspects of work on dreams applied by psychotherapists in private practice. The findings indicate that dreams were often used in therapy, especially in psychoanalysis. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the frequency of the therapists' working on their own dreams and frequency of work on dreams in therapy. Because work on dreams was rated as beneficial for the clients, further studies investigating the effectiveness and the process of working on dreams will be of interest.