Psychology of dreams: justification and development of a synthetic approach

Bogachev Aleksei Mikhailovich ORCID: 0000-0002-9430-2274 Researcher at the Center for the Prevention of Extremism in Education and Youth Environment, A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University; Senior Lecturer of the Department of Practical Psychology, Mariupol State Humanitarian University named after A.I. Kuindzhi 197198, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Bolshaya Pushkarskaya str., 6, sq. 20 amb1976@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The problem of understanding the nature of dreams, their place in mental reality and, above all, in the mental reality of a person in the context of personality development and the tasks of psychotherapy is becoming increasingly relevant from the point of view of a new "wave" of its study in the professional community. Moreover, if among practitioners, work with dreams turns out to be "in fact" in demand (albeit to one degree or another), then in academic psychology (even in its medical part) the phenomenon of dreams continues to be treated with caution, which often leads to a certain substitution of deep psychological research (important from the point of view of how theories and practices) by various statistical manipulations claiming a "scientific monopoly".

Most likely, this is due to the too strong affective charge that dreams carry, as K.G. Jung once said: "you can engage in any science with the help of intelligence alone, except psychology ... it is thanks to "affect" that the subject becomes involved in reality <...> a much larger number of people are afraid of the unconscious than one would expect..." ^{[45, p. 17]}.

At the same time, practicing psychologists continue serious work in this direction, which is associated with difficult processes of internal development. In this article, we have attempted to summarize some of the results of this work and propose certain steps in its development.

Some aspects of modern dream theory

In the field of a scientific conceptual approach to understanding the essence of dreams and practical work with them, it makes sense to single out psychoanalysis ^[42] and its various "derivatives" ^{[1,2,3,5,35,42]}, in which the emphasis is on the interpretation of dreams in the context of the "fulfillment of desires of the ego" and (or) the conflicting interweaving of various drives, projections and introjections, object relations ^{[1,2, 3,5]}, "containerization of experiences" ^{[1, 2]} and certain constructions of the "inner theater"ego" and "superego" in the mode of transference relations" ^[43]. Beyond the limits of psychoanalytic concepts goes the consideration of dreams as a special kind of reality, which must not only be interpreted, but experienced directly, often installing its content both inside (in the sphere of psychic reality) and in social space. With this approach, many directions overlap, including analytical (Jungian) psychology ^{[41, 43-47]}, psychosynthesis ^{[6, 7]}, gestalt psychology ^[32], hypnoanalysis ^[4], etc. Cognitive-behavioral ^[22], psychophysiological ^[33], etc., concepts of dreams, which have their own logic and an array of empirical data, should be singled out separately.

Returning to depth psychology, we note that if in the Jungian tradition the emphasis is largely on archetypal images and transpersonal phenomena, then, say, in the framework of the Gestalt approach (as well as hypnoanalysis) – on the dialogic interaction between "ego consciousness" and "publicity". Of course, these and other concepts largely "duplicate" each other (they have a common "subject of research"), but the specifics of such duplication in each case are peculiar. For example, the "dialogue of subpersonalities" manifested in the space of dreams, in the Gestalt approach or hypnoanalysis, is included primarily in the biographical context, and in psychosynthesis and Jungianism, this kind of dialogue may well turn into a transpersonal "dimension". Or, say, the concept of psychoanalytic interpretation is qualitatively different from the interpretation in line with archetypal psychology, and the basic Gestalt approach ignores this part of reality altogether. Therefore, the same dream of a particular individual is often interpreted, in fact, in very distant coordinate systems, the choice of which depends on the personality of the interpreter, including his worldview.

Let's give an example. Various authors, such as V.N. Shlykov ^[42], have tried to innovate in the field of working with dreams, while acting in rather narrow paradigms from the point of view of theory. Working (conceptually) in the psychonanalytic paradigm, V.N. Shlykov actually went to work in the space of a dream and with its material "in the mode of transference and countertransference, as well as the dialogue of "ego" and "superego" with the division of the dream "into two parts, the one where infantile desire manifests itself, and the one where the struggle against this desire unfolds" ^{[42, page 9]}. Having achieved some success, he, at the same time, objectively fixed the limitation of his methodology in accordance with a certain structure of perception of the world.

Such limitations inevitably lead to serious problems both in the construction of a consistent concept of dreams, and in practical psychotherapeutic work, and is also a reason for criticism. It is obvious that the subjective and "methodologically biased" aspects of personality development and psychotherapy are an important and unavoidable constant, and, at the same time, the need to build a synthetic, holistic concept of dreams and the structure of working with them seems very relevant. To a very significant extent, the above limitations are removed by A. Mindell ^[19-21] with his procedural approach, in which the dream is considered as a special channel of perception and even a special "dimension" of mental reality (and reality in general), where both the dreamer and his dialogue partner (for example, a psychologist) can be in a single space (the psychoanalyst V.N. Shlykov mentioned above, who, in our opinion, managed to combine the theory and practice of psychoanalysis, psychosynthesis, analytical psychology and the procedural approach, largely without realizing it, would call such a space the space of "consistent transference and countertransference"). At the same time, in our opinion, this concept lacks a complex cartography of the psyche (which is its advantage and disadvantage at the same time).

Currently, among the actual academic works in terms of the study of dreams in line with the scientific synthetic approach, the transpersonal integrative scientific school of V.V. Kozlov and V.V. Maikov are distinguished [14-16,18], in general, and the dissertation work of S. A. Parfentiev based on the achievements of this school "Analysis of dreams as a method of psychodiagnostics and psychocorrection of personality in social psychology” ^[31], in particular. It should be noted that this work was preceded by a whole series of his other works ^[23-30]. S.A. Parfentiev proposes a "functional diagnostic" classification of dreams, in which a particular dream can be considered as "1. a manifestation of intrapersonal conflict; 2. a signal of impending crisis, dissociation, disintegration; 3. a reflection of somatic issues 4. psychoemotional tension, stress; 5. manifestation of the "self-image"; 6. dream transference, resistance-protection 7. development of a program, achievement of a goal, problem resolution" ^{[31, p. 8]}.

At the same time, he notes that in this classification there are no dreams of a spiritual and transcendent-transforming plan, although they have important significance from the point of view of practical psychology. Also, when working with dream symbols, he suggests determining the direction of the appropriate accents, answering questions about what exactly the symbol indicates (to this, we note, its universal semantic meaning should be added), exactly how the "indication" occurs, what meaning it has for the dreamer in various perspectives of his life (in including in emotional and cognitive contexts).

In our opinion, most of the dream characteristics cited by S.A. Parfentiev, in one way or another, are related to the psychodynamics of intrapersonal conflict and, accordingly, to an attempt through the work of the dream to resolve this conflict and achieve a state of integrity both on the preverbal, figurative, and verbal levels.

In our opinion, it is obvious that the patient, as a rule, can come to this only by identifying with the therapist and internalizing the therapeutic function. (Note that within the framework of modern psychoanalysis, the common place has become the "redirection" to the client of the opportunity and the right to interpret his dreams himself ^[35].)

Our own work with dream material has led us to understand this phenomenon in the key of a transpersonal approach, synthetic rather than eclectic. Based on this understanding, in several works we have formulated the foundations of the synthetic concept of dreams, following in line with the concept of V.V. Kozlov, V.V. Maikov, S.A. Parfentiev, etc. It should be noted that many colleagues are gradually coming to this understanding, as evidenced, in particular, by the theses of the XI International Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Symposium "Man and Society: Health care and healthcare in the focus of medical anthropology"¹.

As we note in the work "The synthetic concept of working with dreams: approbation in the field of psychological psychotherapy and personality development", "this approach to dreams allows us to consider each of the concepts of dreams, whether it is a traditionally psychoanalytic approach, Jungian analysis, psychosynthesis and transpersonal psychology, Gestalt psychology, etc. as one of the options for describing and explaining universal patterns which characterize the dream and which, one way or another, are a manifestation of the dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious dreamer, his self-manifestation and self-expression and, ultimately, the movement of his personality towards integrity (often through the elaboration of traumatic experiences and destructive processes)" ^{[9, p.1]}.

And here we turn again to V.V. Kozlov and V.V. Maikov: "If you tell a classically trained psychoanalyst about shamanic initiation, he will think: "Yes! A severe form of psychosis!" If it is a Jungian, he will consider all this as a process of individuation, finding his essence, building a complete mandala, and, of course, the client has much more space here, but, nevertheless, the Jungian analyst will look at you through the prism of Jungian theories, through Jungian typologies, through the architectonics of the process of individuation, through archetypes, through its conceptual shell. He will follow this, work with an active imagination, and invite you to communicate with different archetypes. A gestalt therapist may suggest that you communicate with dream characters. ("Which of the people here looks the most like the witch doctor from your dream?") But, nevertheless, every psychotherapist understands everything based on his vision, his theoretical workload." ^{[18, p. 37]}. Accordingly, to increase the level of awareness of the essence of dreams and the effectiveness of psychotherapy, an integrative (synthetic) and practice-oriented concept of dreams is necessary.

It is obvious that modern theory and practice of working with dreams mean an emphasis on action that transforms psycho-emotional reality and allows achieving serious internal changes in the personality itself. As E.Y. Shipitsyn writes, "Change, process, becoming is a real experience for a person. All symbols or individuations appearing in a dream are pointers to the real and all its changes" ^[43]. At the same time, the study of both domestic and foreign sources in the field of dream research shows that scientific thought in this direction is undergoing a certain "latent period" characterized by a scarcity of materials and, rather, the "nurturing" of new discoveries, which, in our opinion, increases the relevance of this article.

Let us briefly outline the synthetic concept of dreams and working with them as a continuation of the concept of V.V. Kozlov, V.V. Maikov and S.A. Parfentiev.

The synthetic concept of dreams

First of all, let's define the concept of "dreaming" from the point of view of psychology. Dreams are a direct appeal to those images, symbols and metaphors ^[37], as well as states that are most relevant for expressing who the dreamer is at the moment ^{[12, p.59]}. In other words, it is an expression of who the dreamer is at the moment, and very often it is an addition to his conscious dreamer's attitude, an indication of what to work with (although it happens that a dream is "just" an experience, spontaneous healing, spiritual experience). K.G. Jung wrote: "I gradually abandoned the associative method, which leads too far away from the content of the dream, and preferred to focus on the dreams themselves, believing that they express some kind of message that the subconscious is trying to convey" ^{[44, p. 47]}. As A. Mindell and E. Mindell note, "Dreams are reflections of states that are trying to break into reality" ^{[21, p. 43]}.

According to S.A. Parfentiev, "a dream is a natural mechanism of internal psychotherapy inherent in the personality, during which stressful situations and traumatic events are worked out, and the goal is to preserve the psychoemotional balance of the personality and the level of its adaptability" ^{[31, p. 81]}.

In its own way, each dream (and, moreover, dream reality as such) represents a journey deep into the spiritual and psychological reality with a constant and deeper (and at the same time higher) manifestation of the logic of being. V.V. Kozlov and V.V. Maikov note: "Campbell believes that everyone who is looking for the true meaning In life, one must make such a journey both on a psychological and spiritual level, and that the structure of this journey often spontaneously manifests itself in dreams (Laberge, 1996) ^{[18, p. 139]}.

According to the synthetic approach, the psychologist, acting in the dream field, acts as a "mediator" (mediator), contributing to the launch of the natural process of dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious (superconscious) of the dreamer and the awakening of his transcendental function, becoming his subject in his own mental reality. This work helps: a) activate and saturate the interaction of various parts of the personality, overcome various aspects of resistance to the integration process, achieve a qualitatively new state of integrity; b) gain access to previously unconscious and (or) blocked resources; c) develop the ability to independently use the diagnostic, therapeutic and developmental potential of dreams, including applying appropriate skills in for the purposes of social adaptation ^[9-12]. In this case, patterns are revealed, according to which, as V.V. Maikov notes, "absolutely every person can and does have a much larger range of experiences than he considers related to his life" ^{[39, p. 9]}.

Based on the above conceptual foundations, and, to a large extent, based on the cartography of psychic reality according to S. Groff ^[13], we identify the following "dimensions" (levels) of dreams ^[9-12]: ·

· Psychophysiological – direct (albeit in the field of imagination) fulfillment of physiological and other desires, as well as experiencing the events of the previous day or very strong impressions, their information processing (here we also include the "reading" of information about the state of internal organs described by I.N. Pigarev ^[33]). The solution of certain complex tasks at the unconscious (subconscious, superconscious) levels, which manifests itself in the form of a specific result in a sleep state, also belongs to the same sphere;

· Instincts of the unconscious and distorted ("symbolic") fulfillment of desires in the space of the "ego" – the "shadow" work of the described H). By Freud and his followers, the mechanisms of symbolic fulfillment of desires, condensation or condensation (combining different images into one), displacement (replacing some images with others under the influence of "censorship"), secondary processing (making the dream coherent due to a certain "rational" plot) and the transformation of thoughts into visual images; ·

· Deep interpersonal ("object") relationships, - an expression at the symbolic level of relationships associated with primary attachments formed in the prenatal period, infancy and early childhood, and constituting the "I" of the dreamer; ·

· Subpersonal-symbolic – direct interaction (dialogue) between certain parts of the personality (in some cases, in a state of conflict. The dreamer enters this "dimension" if he already has the inner ability (although in the zone of immediate development) to perceive his mental (psychophysiological) reality as an "integrity" combining various "complexes" (both conscious and unconscious); ·

· Symbolic – the perception of certain universal symbols that complement the conscious reality of the dreamer (say, "house", "flower", "bird") in a particular context; ·

· Symbolic-archetypal – the perception of images charged with archetypal energy that can set the vector of personality development and transform it (this also includes the so-called "healing dreams"); ·

· Transpersonal (spiritual) – direct experience of a higher-order spiritual experience, including the experience of transcendence.

Once again, we note that these levels, in fact, correspond to the cartography of the inner space (levels of consciousness) according to S. Groff, and also in some cases they can "mix", combine with each other, which corresponds to the synthetic concept of personality proposed by us together with A.A. Lomonosov and N.V. Bobrova ^[17].

Based on the above theoretical grounds, we propose a basic practical algorithm for working with dreams. Since any dream is a different kind of interaction between the subject and the Other, consciousness and the beyond (unconscious), it follows: a) to determine the leading dimension (leading level) of a particular dream ("dimensions" can "overlap") in the coordinate system of the dreamer's personality and the social situation of his life; b) to comprehend the meaning of the symbols that appeared in the dream both from the point of view of a universal archetypal approach and in a specific context; c) to fix the specifics of the dialogue between conscious and unconscious, or blocking such a dialogue, the possible "one-sidedness" of the dream, certain attempts at self-deception, etc.; d) offer an interpretation that removes barriers of self-knowledge, expands the space of internal dialogue and spiritual choice, eliminate "blind spots", work out protective mechanisms; e) if necessary, invite the dreamer to return to the dream at its most intense moment (for example, at the moment of coming out of a nightmare) and start a dialogue, while maintaining moral attitudes; f) meet with the previously blocked, "opposite" to the installation of consciousness, the content of the psyche and integrate it into the integrity of the personality; f) fix, consolidate this integration after leaving the dream.

Obviously, the next step is to introduce criteria for the adequacy of interpretation of the dream content, as well as the effectiveness of working with its material. Our experience suggests that the interpretation of a dream is adequate, and working with it is effective when fixing most of the following phenomena:

• "insight" (insight);

• the emergence of a new, previously unconscious psychoemotional complex;

• the appearance of resistance, followed by the manifestation of mental material that testifies in favor of interpretation;

• experiencing inner wholeness, a sense of integration;

• subjective experience of a new level of well-being;

• the images (characters) of the dream behave autonomously at the time of interpretation and (or) when working with the material of the dream,

besides:

• the dreamer acquires new behavioral capabilities and (or) opportunities in the field of psychoemotional self-regulation (this criterion is one of the main (or even the main) result of the processes of deep work with dreams, as such;

• A new, personally significant series of dreams is emerging ².

Thus, following the concept proposed by us, the psychologist, working in the space of dreams, acts as an intermediary in launching the natural (natural) process, which is a dream, and helps his ward: a) to establish or enrich a dialogue between different parts of his own personality, often overcoming certain barriers to achieve a new level of integrity; b) gain conscious access to the unconscious resources of one's own personality; c) learn to better understand oneself and, more importantly, independently use the diagnostic, therapeutic and developmental potential of dreams.

In order to confirm the existence of the above patterns and the effectiveness of the corresponding algorithm, we conducted an experiment consisting of two stages (although the approbation and detailing of this concept has been going on for many years).

Experiment-2023

In this experiment, which took place in 2023 ^[9], 29 people took part (all women from 18 to 50 years old). 26 subjects completed the experiment (3 of them left the experiment on the second or third day). The experiment lasted 14 days (with the option of further support if desired by the participant). The corresponding period was determined on the basis of the "basic" duration of psychotherapeutic "marathons" in the field of the transpersonal approach (several days were added for reasons of psychological ecology and as a kind of "airbag").

The purpose of the experiment was to determine and fix the effect of the synthetic concept of dreams in personality development and psychological psychotherapy. We assumed that this potential is high, and the concept itself can be recommended to psychotherapists and practical psychologists for use in their professional activities. In addition, in our opinion, the synthetic concept of dreams can become a factor in the development of the general scientific theory of dreams.

The participants of the experiment (having previously passed the procedure of voluntary informed consent) sent us daily in electronic form a detailed description of their dreams (their state) after waking up. In turn, we offered them an appropriate interpretation, as well as, if necessary, a recommendation for working with the dream material (according to the above algorithm). After the experiment was completed, the participants underwent the testing procedure again and submitted the final self-reports.

The effectiveness of the work was assessed by us both using a qualitative method (self-report) and a quantitative method ("Spielberger test"). Quantitatively, 13 of the 24 participants in the experiment (54.1%) showed a decrease in both situational and personal anxiety (in 8 cases (33.3%), we recorded a sharp decrease in anxiety levels). Situational anxiety decreased in 20 subjects (83.3%), personal anxiety decreased in 16 subjects (67.7%). The reverse situation rarely occurred: situational and personal anxiety increased simultaneously in 2 subjects (8.3%). In 3 cases, there was a decrease in the level of situational anxiety, while personal anxiety remained at the same level; in one case, the opposite situation arose.

Thus, we can state that from a quantitative point of view, 17 subjects (70.8%) had definitely positive psychodynamics in the experiment. In a third of the cases, there was a sharp improvement in the condition of the subject, assessed by the anxiety parameter. It follows that the use of a "synthetic" algorithm when working with dream material is clearly associated with a decrease in anxiety.

From our point of view, such serious changes associated by the subjects in their self-reports with the work during the experiment represent a serious result.

At the same time, an analysis of the transcripts of the dialogue with the subjects and their self-reports allowed us to conclude that in most cases, meaningful psychodynamics in the course of our work consisted of the following stages: a) the adaptation stage, b) the stage of manifestation and awareness of the dream material (many subjects believed before the experiment that they did not dream); c) the "shadow" stage of "unfreezing" chaotic emotions associated with traumatic experiences and (or) internal conflicts, we note that at this stage, the subjects, as a rule, received previously blocked access to their internal resources; d) the "culmination" stage, that is, an increase in the intensity of negative experiences, as well as acquiring the ability to endure them by relying on internal resources, while simultaneously turning chaotic energy into creative energy; c) the integration stage.

In some subjects, these stages were cyclically repeated (as the gradual consolidation of a new, creative experience took place). And in almost every case under consideration, natural learning was carried out to dialogue with unconscious parts of one's own psyche, coupled with the perception of energy-saturated images (often archetypal). In the vast majority (78%) of cases, this process was accompanied by explicit and recorded positive changes in the self-perception and behavior of the participants of the experiment, both using the Spielberger test and through self-reports.

Of course, 20 out of 26 subjects (76.9%) gave a positive assessment of the experimental work in the context of their condition and (or) the development of their personality within the framework of feedback, 2 subjects (7.6%) gave a neutral assessment, 2 subjects (7.6%) did not send a self–report. A contradictory assessment of work experience was given by 2 subjects.

So, the "experiment-23" (described in detail in our article "The synthetic concept of working with dreams: approbation in the field of psychological psychotherapy and personality development" ^[9]) showed that systematic work with the material of one's own dreams according to the "synthetic" algorithm is really able to activate and in most cases activates the "inner makings of interaction with an unconscious part of oneself (with the "Other-in-oneself"), internal dialogue, self-awareness, integration (healing as an achievement of integrity), development and self-development of the self" ^{[9, p. 13]}, that is, it contributes to the formation of a personality as a subject of being. .

Experiment-2024

During this stage of the study, conducted this time with students of the Institute of Psychology of the Herzen State Pedagogical University, we repeated the previous experiment, but this time we used the author's questionnaire to evaluate its results. Now the experiment was attended by students (2nd and 3rd years) studying in various bachelor's degree programs at the Institute of Psychology of the Herzen State Pedagogical University. 12 people participated in the study.

We again suggested that the subjects pay attention to their dreams, keep a dream diary and record their impressions after sleep there (even if the dreams were not remembered), and then suggested to them a variant of interpretation of the dream according to our algorithm (definition of the "dimension" of the dream, designation of its universal symbolism; assumption of the possible meaning of this symbolism in the context of life the dreamer, in some cases — finding a "nodal point" (the main place of tension / resistance) in the dream; also in some cases — an offer to return to the dream at its "nodal" moment; and then feedback and integration of the experienced / conscious / transformative experience).

Let's describe the patterns that reappear during our repeated experiment along two "axes": "axes of psychodynamics" and "axes of reflection".

During the "experiment 2024" we recorded the same meaningful psychodynamics as in the "experiment 2024". In addition, we traced the transformation of the mental processes of the subjects separately along the "axis of psychodynamics" and along the "axis of reflection":

1) along the "axis of psychodynamics": the stage of regression into the past (adolescence, earlier and childhood), the stage of collision with unacceptable "shadow" parts of oneself (often this is the actualization of real traumatic experience), the stage of acceptance of the part(s) of oneself previously contaminated by the "shadow", the stage of integration. These stages follow each other in a "spiral", despite the fact that integrative processes are becoming more pronounced, and chaotic experiences are becoming more bearable ^[34]. By and large, the patterns described in various concepts of personality and psychotherapy are manifested here: from classical psychoanalysis to the theory of object relations, from Jung's analytical psychology to Groff's transpersonal psychotherapy, etc.

2) as for the "axis of reflection", then the individual makes the transition from the state of the "object", which is influenced by certain processes and figures of the dream, to the conscious perception of the dream as a dialogue with himself, and then, in many cases, goes into the dimension of subjective "metareflexion", that is, the ability to be in a state of wakefulness and dreaming, at both poles of the internal dialogue and between them simultaneously ^[38].

In some cases, the subject was actively immersed in dream work, which has the character of "insights" and transformative experiences, but then "saturated" with such work, having reached a certain (that is, determined by the self-regulating function of the psyche) level of integration.

It should be noted that, of course, in the context of this work, the phenomena of transference and countertransference arose (if only due to the fact that the interpretations of the psychologist were initially perceived by the subjects as messages from the "mana personality", which gradually transformed into the inner figure of the Observer (subject)), and from time to time received an appropriate interpretation (although in this article we do not focus on this, of course, a very important factor).

Upon completion of the work, the subjects answered the questions of the questionnaire developed by us. From a quantitative point of view, at the stage of the "experiment-2024", we obtained the following results: 1) 6 (50%) of the subjects rated the experience as "very useful", 5 (41%) of the subjects rated it as "useful", 1 (8%) of the subjects rated it as "still unclear"; 2) to the question "Did this experience help to better understand the essence of the human psyche and dreams in particular?" the answer "Definitely yes" was given by 7 (58%) of the subjects, "Rather yes" - 2 (12.6%) of the subjects, "Maybe" (12.6%) - 2 subjects, "Rather no" - 1 (8%) of the subjects; 3) To the question "Did this experience help your professional "Exactly yes" was answered by 2 (12.6%) of the subjects, "Rather yes" - 4 (33.3%) of the subjects, "Maybe" - 4 (33%) subjects, "Probably not" - 2 (12.56%) of the subjects.

It should also be noted that many participants in the experiment clearly showed a qualitative ability to overcome internal splitting, which was expressed in the gradual development of the ability to withstand the coexistence of creative and destructive processes [1-3,5,8] when approving creation (some Western colleagues would try to describe this in line with the theory of object relations in terms of the ratio of "good" and "bad" objects).

Let's say one of the participants in the experiment (let's call her Anna (name changed)) before that, she suffered from severe depressive states during work and had the following dream: "I dreamed that there are two worlds that are separated by a fence. People with superpowers live in one, and ordinary people live in the other. I had the ability to fall into the astral and see the future, see the truth and all that. I somehow managed to fall into the astral and get into my head. My thoughts looked like a city crowded with one-story buildings. Sometimes the city was green and blooming. And sometimes it started to burn, and half of it turned into pepe L. And I remember that I found a way to understand why the city is burning and stop it." The interpretation according to which the dreamer, as a subject, builds a dialogue within herself between consciousness and the unconscious, and also learns to accept herself in a life-affirming, resilient state and maintain this state, despite destructive drives, caused her to respond in accordance with the criteria for the effectiveness of interpretation. It is important to emphasize that from the very beginning of the work, Anna saw and remembered nightmarish dreams associated with certain destructive images, and gradually these dreams became less chaotic and frightening.

Another subject, who was initially in a rather severely depressed state, passed the questionnaire "Hospital scale of anxiety and Depression" before and after the experiment (at will). Here are the relevant results:

Before the experiment:

After the experiment:

As you can see, the indicators on both the anxiety scale and the depression scale have decreased from clinical to normal. This case, being separate, nevertheless confirms the results of the "experiment 2023", where a third of the subjects had a sharp decrease in both personal and situational anxiety according to the Spielberger-Khanin school.

It should also be noted that in the framework of working with dreams, we actively used a value approach that allows the subject to find an inner meaningful support in conditions of disidentification with his "ego".

It is important to emphasize that in one of the cases of our work, the subject, who at one time had experience of using large doses of psychoactive substances (fly agarics), stated that by immersing himself in his dreams at a conscious level, he receives an intense and qualitatively new experience of internal dialogue, which allows him to achieve a state of integration, impossible in the case of taking psychostimulants. Here we see a certain potential for the prevention and/or overcoming of drug addiction.

Considering these results precisely in the context of the method of investigating individual cases, we can see herea clear proof of the existence of patterns describing the natural self-regulatory and psychotherapeutic function of dreams at the same time, which is activated if an individual as a person, through the mediation of a psychologist-psychotherapist (Another), learns internal dialogue and integration of various parts of his mental reality, that is, in fact, becomes a subject and acquires the ability to metareflexion, in which they combine ontological and epistemological aspects of life.

This, in our opinion, is what V.V. Kozlov and V.V. Maikov are talking about.: "It is not we who develop and change personality, it is not the world that solves problems, but everything organizes itself in the space of connectivity. This is the basic principle of real-life psychotherapy: in the light of all-connectivity, everything is illuminated, and integration is possible only in this light. The essence of psychotherapy is to restore the communicative fabric of consciousness in the space of all—connectivity" ^{[18, p. 38]}.

We will also give the answers of the subjects to the question about the essence of dreams: a) "The essence of a dream is a conversation with your subconscious mind. A very useful function of our body, which allows us to understand in more detail the motives of our experiences or even ailments"; b) "A dream is some kind of not fully studied subconscious process, in which there may be fragments of what we have already seen, or what we dream about, or what we are afraid of. Everything that is repressed can come in dreams, through them you can work with the psychological state of the client"; d) "These are recycled problems, tasks that exist in our lives, they appear in dreams to try to find a new solution for them, or get rid of what is gnawing at a person so that he can it's letting go"; e) "Dreams are a unique perception of experience that our psyche processes and gives out in a rather interesting way. Sometimes dreams point to our traumas and worries, and sometimes they make it clear that life is wonderful and there is something to appreciate in it. I would like to answer that sometimes, when it seems that a dream is completely uninformative, it can be the exact opposite"; e) "Dreams are something through which you can get to know your true self, something through which you can describe your current state in more detail. it is a bridge between the unconscious and the conscious"; f) "A dream is a special state of mind that occurs in a dream and is characterized by the perception of various images, sounds, emotions and situations"; g) "A dream is a special state of mind that occurs in a dream and is characterized by the perception of various images, sounds, emotions and situations" h) "Dreams are something borderline between reality and the beyond. Between consciousness and the unconscious. By realizing and accepting dreams, we can interact with them and work in real time"; and) "A dream is a reflection of events and experiences taking place at the moment in a person's life. A person may or may not be aware of them. A dream can give a person feedback on what is happening to a person right now, what to pay attention to. It may even help to make any decisions"; y) "A dream is a corridor into the unconscious, a reflection of internal processes in an "external" manifestation, in the form of images during an altered consciousness based on traumatic / significant recent (less often long-standing) events. This is a transitional channel, a bridge between unknowable unconscious mental processes, the subconscious and consciousness, being in which we can meet with the manifestation of our inner self and our world"; k) "Dreams reflect and manifest the processes occurring on all planes of the psyche, harmonizing the connection between them."

Finally, let's present brief self-reports of the subjects on the content of their work (spelling and punctuation of the authors are preserved): a) "It was unusual and interesting. If I couldn't figure out what was happening to me, why I didn't have the strength, mood, and motivation to do anything for no particular reason, then it turned out that it could be tracked in dreams, and quite correctly. With the help of interpretation, I looked at what was happening from above, analyzed and compared it with reality. An incredible job happened to me, much faster than if I had been looking for answers to what was happening on my own. Thank you!" b) "It was a little difficult. Working with dreams required self-control. I wake up hard in the morning, I need 5-10 alarm clocks. When you get up a little in the morning like that, dreams are quickly forgotten. Therefore, I had to wake up from the first alarm clock to record my dreams. At first, I didn't quite understand how interpretation of dreams works, I imagined it a little differently. Then I began to delve into it and now I can quite interpret something myself. Thanks a lot to Alexey! I gave a lot of detailed feedback, every day. He became a direct guide to the world of dreams. But now I've started sleeping too much"; c) "The experiment has a great effect on many areas of life: study, work, relationships, friendship, spiritual and creative development. Over the course of the experiment, I began to notice that creative thinking and critical thinking improved. Sometimes I have to go through unpleasant moments that open up in me, but it's worth the effect (including the therapeutic effect) that I have already received at the moment (2.5 months). It is also important to note that it is just curious to analyze and analyze dreams and observe the dynamics of their changes. I also learned a lot of different practices that are really useful. I used some without knowing their names and the “exact” protocol of the event, which reduced their effect. An important point is also that immersion in meditation has become much easier to go through and there is an understanding of the processes that occur at this time with me, which improves the quality of meditations"; d) "Along with some limitations in everyday life, I wrote a dream diary and analyzed it together with a psychologist. I was trying to induce lucid dreams, trying to figure out the causes of my anxiety. It was interesting for me to analyze and observe my dreams, but I did not always understand what to do with the interpreted information and how to help myself in solving my problems. And I also noticed that over the course of participation, after about half of the process, I was already having difficulty and not so willing to write down my dreams and sometimes it was difficult to remember them. And when I stopped sending them for the first week and a half, I couldn't remember what I was dreaming at all. Before the experiment began, all my life it was interesting for me to remember, to analyze dreams on my own, during the experiment it turned into some kind of routine and became a difficult process for me. Now I feel my consciousness is recovering, and I see and remember my dreams again. I don't drip into them so much, and that's enough for me"; e) "The experience is definitely useful, I would strongly recommend that people who understand psychoanalysis get it, otherwise the person will refuse and say that this is nonsense. I can't say that this experience has clearly influenced me, in terms of significant changes, but knowledge and possible interpretations bring rational peace of mind. Understanding the plots from the point of view of the development and disclosure of my unconscious, personally, helps me to harmonize the state and mood after sleep"; f) "The work experience is amazing, it's amazing how versatile the workers are, how much the interpretations coincide with the feelings. The nature of dreams has changed, it seems to me they have become more profound, they have lost the touch of "everyday life". The number of dreams varied throughout the experiment, at one time they disappeared, at another there were so many of them that it was impossible to remember even 10% of them. The emotional background also changed throughout the experiment, there were periods of calm and "zen", which alternated with background anxiety. We can definitely say that working with dreams helped me to understand myself better"; f) "As a result of the experiment, my anxiety decreased dramatically, I began to understand myself and my man much better."

As we can see, most of the participants in the experiment (as well as the participants of the "experiment 2023") have increased the ability to internal dialogue and awareness of their "blind spots", as well as self-regulation and building internal balance (that is, the achievement of a subjectively experienced state of integrity and inner well-being).

In other words, there was an "internalization of the psychotherapeutic function", associated with the development of the ability to work independently with one's dreams, achieving the task of both introspection and personality development. For many, the work led to the "aha effect", understood as awareness of the inner logic present in dreams, that is, to an understanding of the essence of dreams. It can be argued that it was here that the movement of the individual towards the very becoming of the subject of being, about which various authors talk so much, took place.

In other words, turning to dreams as in space and the process of inner life allows you to realize and feel the center of activity of your "I" (again, enter the state of the subject), and what S.A. Parfentiev writes so: "The core of the dream, as well as the center of human mental activity, is the "inner Self" ("observer", "node of consciousness", "I am consciousness", etc.). Therefore, the center of our coordinate system in the dream is the image of the "I", which includes the egoidentifications present in the personality ("I am material", "I am spiritual" and "I am social"), as well as a set of representations and characteristics of oneself ("I am real", "I am ideal", "I am potential", "Not-Me")" ^{[31, p. 103]}

Once again, we note that the data of the study conducted in 2024 ("experiment-2024") are combined with the data of the study conducted in 2023 in terms of self-reports (feedback) of the subjects, which is a "mutual proof" of their reliability (full transcripts of three examples of the dialogue between the subject and the experimenter are posted on the community page "ANO "Center for Stress Psychology" in Vk.com ³).

Conclusions

In our opinion, the results of our research fully confirm the generalizations made within the framework of the scientific school of V.V. Kozlov, V.V. Maikov, S.A. Parfentiev and give a certain impetus to the development of relevant research. The dream really is a natural mechanism of internal psychotherapy inherent in the personality, during which stressful situations and traumatic events are worked out, and the goal is to preserve the psychoemotional balance of the personality and the level of its adaptability.

Our proposed algorithm for practical work with dreams, based on the synthetic theory of dreams, and assuming the role of a psychologist as an intermediary in the process of developing the subject's ability to intrapersonal dialogue and metareflexion, is quite effective, including in the context of reducing anxiety/relief of depressive states, and as such serves as proof of the scientific nature of this theory.

Of course, the effectiveness of this algorithm significantly depends on the psychological type of personality, its abilities and motivation. In addition, it requires a value-based approach. And yet, we repeat, the results obtained by us based on the method of investigating individual cases, combined with the data presented by S.A. Parfentiev, are convincing and reproducible in practice.

Moreover, they make it possible to explain (and, again, reproduce in practice) the conceptual experience of working with dreams in the mode of "consistent transference and countertransference", relayed by V.N. Shlykov at the time.

Conclusion

In our opinion, the results we have achieved can allow us to optimize to a certain extent both the process of psychological psychotherapy and the work on personal development of people interested in psychology, including within the framework of training psychologists.

The very fact of paying attention to one's dreams and launching an internal dialogue process in this context is capable in some cases of facilitating the process of forming a mature professional and personal identity of a specialist psychologist, although we see here, at least at the level of consciousness, a significant discrepancy in the responses of the subjects (which can be partially explained by their self-doubt and significant lack of practice in their training).

Thus, from a rather vague and supposedly difficult to comprehend field of study, the psychological understanding of dreams becomes quite clear, scientifically sound and reproducible in practice without rigid alignment to one or another paradigm. ⁴

And, no matter what, we have a solid foundation for further prospects for both practical work and scientific research in the field of dream psychology.

^[1] XI INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL SYMPOSIUM "MAN AND SOCIETY: HEALTH CARE AND HEALTHCARE IN THE FOCUS OF MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY" October 30 – November 2, 2023 ABSTRACTS (in the author's edition) URL: https://medanthro.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Тезисы .pdf

^[2] Note that the above applies to the problem of distinguishing painful fantasies and real work with images.

^[3] The community page of the ANO Center for Stress Psychology in Vk.com . URL: https://vk.com/club17861784?w=wall-17861784_919%2Fall

^[4] Which does not cancel the "blocking" of understanding of the relevant phenomena at the psycho-emotional level, including among representatives of academic science.