A Freudian approach to working with dreams with Luca Bosetti

"On my way to discovering the solution of the dream all kinds of things were revealed which I was unwilling to admit even to myself." Sigmund Freud, The interpretation of Dreams, 1900

While the science of Freud’s time considered dreams to be meaningless, for Freud every dream was meaningful and offered a path into understanding the unconscious mind. His 1900 The Interpretation of Dreams provided a groundbreaking theory of dreams and an innovative method for interpretation, called free association, which continues to be used in contemporary psychoanalysis. In essence, instead of telling patients what he thought their dreams meant, Freud invited them to express what came into their mind about each element of their dream.

In the first part of this live webinar, Luca Bosetti will discuss the importance and impact of The Interpretation of Dreams on the field of psychoanalysis, highlighting how while being an original thesis, it was also a highly personal book which offers insight into Freud’s inner world.

In the second part, Luca will share how Freud’s analytic method of free association can be applied in clinical practice, drawing on dream vignettes from client material. Participants will also be invited to share their own dreams or their anonymised clients’ dreams (with prior consent) for exploration and discussion.

Speaker: Luca Bossetti

Luca is a psychoanalyst working in private practice in Nottingham and London. He is a member of the Centre of Freudian Analysis and Research, a member of the College of Psychoanalysts – UK, and a member of the UKCP. He has a PhD in Lacanian psychoanalysis and ethics from Nottingham University and he has previously worked for several years as a psychotherapist in the field of addiction. He teaches regularly in the public seminar and in the introductory and clinical training programmes at Cfar and at the Guild of Psychotherapists and he is a clinical supervisor at the Psychosis Therapy Project at Islington Mind.