A royal road from homelessness--the clinical use of dreams.
The author discusses the use of a dynamic psychotherapy technique, specifically dream exploration, in his work with New York City's homeless. Given the short amount of time clinically available in working with this population, discussing the patient's dreams was found to quickly get to the most pressing here-and-now issues. The psychiatrist's interest in the patient's creation of the dream was also noted to enhance the therapeutic relationship and the patient's compliance thereby improving the chances of a successful therapeutic outcome.
Merlino
Joseph P
JP
Bellevue Hospital Center, USA.
D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D004325:Dreams; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population