Wish fulfillment

[2] Since his analysis of neurotics had taught him that the most complicated thought activities can take place without the intervention of consciousness, he asserted that dreams are proof of the existence of unconscious psychic acts, demonstrated that they have a meaning and can be interpreted by a "scientific method", that of psychoanalysis.

"[2]In other words, dreams are the fulfillment of unconscious wishes that are suppressed by the conscious mind, either because they are deemed unacceptable or because they conflict with societal norms.

Therefore, they constitute a source of information about the dreamer's deepest desires and fears, as well as the unconscious conflicts that may be holding them back in their waking lives.

In the last pages of this work, he wrote: "The interpretation of dreams is the via regia (Royal Road) to a knowledge of the unconscious element in our psychic life.

The method used involves interpreting the content of a large number of dreams in order to uncover the underlying latent meaning and to identify the unconscious desires and conflicts that are causing psychological distress.

[5] Particularly, Freud used a method called free association, which involved the patient saying whatever came to mind in response to specific elements of the dream.

[9] Freud's ideas about dream interpretation have been dropped as counterfactual or untestable by evidence-based psychologists in disciplines such as cognitive psychology.

[10] The major objections to Freud's dream theories relate to the fact that he relied heavily on his clinical experiences for his research.