This book provides a comprehensive account of the ontogenetic approach to the study of dreaming and introduces a new theoretical framework: the ontogenetic‑psychodynamic model.

Drawing on empirical data from dream reports of young children (ages 3–5) and from the developmental changes that emerge during middle childhood (ages 6–10), the ontogenetic approach is presented here for the first time in a structured and systematic way. The book outlines its historical origins, methodologies, empirical findings, and potential contributions to dream research and psychoanalytic theory. The ontogenetic‑psychodynamic model is situated within contemporary developments in neuroscience, Freud’s theory of dreams, his model of psychic development, and his model of the mind, together with current formulations of the predictive mind. By offering a deeper understanding of the constitutive features of dreaming process, this new framework serves to guide future research and enable a more effective clinical utilisation of dreams in both children and adults.

This volume is intended for dream researchers, child analysts, psychoanalytic clinicians, and scholars in developmental psychology who seek a deeper understanding of the early formation and functions of dreaming.

Claudio Colace is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and independent researcher based in Rome, Italy. He is the author of The Dreams of a Child: A Case Study in Early Forms of Dreaming (2022), Drug Dreams: Clinical and Research Implications of Dreams about Drugs in Drug-Addicted Patients (2014), and Children's Dreams: From Freud's Observations to Modern Dream Research (2010).