For Adler, on the other hand, dreams become part of the larger project of the individual to master his or her life. Often these tensions have roots in infantile conflicts, making dreams pasoriented. In Freudian theory, dreams are fundamentally arenas within which inner tensions, many of them safely hidden from view in the unconscious, could be safely discharged.
This desire for control and mastery becomes the central drive in human life.ĭreams would clearly have a different significance for Adler than they had for Freud. In response to this feeling of helpless- ness, the human being, according to Adler, develops a powerful urge to master his or her world. Adler viewed much human motivation as originating during the lengthy period of child- hood, when we are relatively powerless to control our lives. To oversimplify the difference between Freud and Adler, Freud focused on sex and aggression and Adler focused on power and status. Even though he did not develop a full-blown theory of dreams, his thoughts on this subject had a significant influence on later dream theorizing. Adler placed much less emphasis on dreams than other schools of psychiatry, and his attitude toward dreams is somewhat inconsistent. He was at one time closely associated with Sigmund Freud, but broke with Freud to develop his own form of psychotherapy. A Guide to Dreams and Sleep ExperiencesĪlfred Adler (1870–1937) was an Austrian psychiatrist who developed a personality theory referred to as individual psychology. Adler therefore felt that in our dreams we not only see what we think of ourself, and what our environmental situation is, but also find a definition of our techniques for satisfying our drive to deal with and succeed in the world. So a person who feels vulnerable may become aggressive to compensate. Because we strive from our earliest years to have some control over ourself and surroundings, we may develop a style of life around a sense of inferiority or lack of power. Dreams can also help the dreamer define two often conflicting aspects of their experience-their image or sense of themselves, and their sense of what is socially acceptable. He stated that in dreams we can clearly see our aggressive impulses and desire for fulfilment. Adler saw people as goal oriented, with an urge toward personal growth and wholeness. Diverged from Freud over the sexual impulse being all important in human behaviour. Studied medicine, later became a disciple of Freud.
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