The changing role of "using" dreams in addiction recovery.

The Dream Interview Method of dream interpretation can be applied to dreams depicting alcohol and drug use to elucidate the meaning of such dreams in relation to stages of recovery. This paper summarizes the method and demonstrates its application utilizing seven dreams collected from clients in psychotherapy and participants in dream workshops. The incorporation of such interpreted dreams into substance abuse treatment as well as their relationship to other life issues is discussed.

The dream interview method in addiction recovery. A treatment guide.

The Dream Interview Method is a recently developed tool for dream interpretation that can facilitate work on addiction issues at all stages of recovery. This paper describes the method in detail and discusses examples of its application in a group composed of individuals in varying stages of the recovery process. It permits the therapist to accelerate the development of insight, and once the method is learned, it can be applied in self-help formats.

The use of presleep instructions and dreams in psychosomatic disorders.

Economic restrictions in health care delivery encourage the development and use of efficacious, inexpensive, and brief psychiatric interventions in the treatment of psychosomatic illness that can be employed by generalists as well as psychiatrists. This article reports on the successful new application of recently developed techniques in dream interpretation in three cases of varying psychosomatic symptomatology. The improvements noted suggest that this approach may provide a rapid, low-cost diagnostic and treatment method appropriate for a range of psychosomatic patients.

Sex and the boards.

In 1978 a questionnaire on the functioning of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology was mailed to a sample of APA members. The authors present the significant differences in responses between men and women psychiatrists. A higher percentage of women than men were among thoes who had experienced stress from the time and effort involved in taking the Board examinations and from fear of the oral examination; 45% of the women respondents who had received certification had done so since 1975 versus 23% for the men. The authors discuss possible explanations for the sex differences, including role strain, and suggest greater flexibility in where , when, and how Board examinations can be taken.

The development of a program for treating obesity.

During its first three years of operation a health center in California developed a program for treating obesity. It was originally called a weight-control class and had an educational orientation. The first series of classes lasted 12 weeks and subsequent series lasted six weeks. After four series, attendance had dropped drastically and the class leaders were ready to discontinue the program. Health center staff encouraged them to continue, and during the next series they made several changes that made the program more successful. The program was called a health and weight class and included patients who were not obese. The leaders restricted the class to adult women, drew up a specific diet plan, and set a weight-loss goal of two pounds a week.