Depression and Dreams

A common and effective form of intervention for treating depression is CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). More recent work has found that a "lighter" version of CBT is to have people with mild to moderate depression focus on positive things in waking life and to stop avoidance behaviour. That is, people with depression begin to stop socializing and begin living more with their own negative thoughts and feelings. By focusing on positive things, doing things that they previously enjoyed, and actively engaging in mood-enhancing behaviours such as smiling, saying hello to people and not complaining results in an uplifting of mood. How might this information help in terms of dream imagery and dream interpretation for people with mild to moderate depression?

Stroop Test and Dreams

A long standing debate in the psychological literature is the notion that dreams do, or do not, have meaning for the dreamer. As the body of research literature evolved over time it became apparent that dream imagery was meaningful to the dreamer on many levels. How can the stroop test help researchers and participants understand that dreams are meaningful?

Heads Up Dreaming

It has been recorded from the beginning of dream writings that people can dream about events in the future. That is, dream imagery can represent events that have not yet happened in time. Researchers have tried to simulate this phenomena in terms of both lab and home dream studies. Having had the opportunity to dream about a future event, what are some of the features of these dreams and how do they differ from problem-solving or emotion-regulating dreams?

The Use of Dream Journals in Self-Guided and Therapist Guided Work

A common practice with both self-guided and therapist-guided dream work is to keep a dream journal. The journal becomes a valuable tool for the dreamer and for the therapist, if it is therapist-guided. How might the journal be helpful and what are the major features of keeping a dream journal?