Albert M. Biele, M.D.

This chapter demonstrates some basic fundamentals in the use of PDS. This
chapter also demonstrates some problems that may arise when PDS is imple-
mented. PDS can be an invaluable aid in all phases of psychotherapy, regard-
less of the school of thought to which a therapist may subscribe. PDS is a
valid means of determining very early in the course of therapy the patients
who are most suitable for engaging in a therapeutic process that strives for a
basic change in the patient's personality. PDS provides an early and ongoing
guide as to the validity of preestablished prognostic expectations. It is also a
reliable instrument for assessing the progress of treatment. It can be a clinical
tool that may significantly shorten the course of therapy. Lastly, PDS is a de-
vice for clinical research. Whereas it has been demonstrated that the dream in
an initial session is a valuable means of assessing the patient's capacity to en-
gage in the collaborative process of psychotherapy, PDS also gives the thera-
pist a guideline for selecting the precise dream aspects that can most effect-
ively be used to activate the therapeutic capability of the patient. The
procedure for collecting the dream is of crucial importance in this system.

Many clinicians have stated that a written report of a dream contributed
very little to clinical use of the dream. PDS, however, requires accurate
dream recordings, in utmost detail and in dreamers' own precise words. The
dreamers are subjective observers and participants in dramas that their minds
have created while free from conscious controls and filters. PDS depends

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