Friday, May 31, 2013

The Storytelling Method

The Storytelling Method of dream interpretation has been used as a dream therapy to decrease negative dream imagery and nightmares with cancer patients, pain patients, soldiers returning from war, people with anxiety and depression, recovering alcoholics, and with relationship issues. It has been translated into Italian, Spanish, and Chinese so it can be used in therapy with these languages. What would be the next logical step for expanding this therapeutic tool in terms of research and practice?

67 comments:

  1. I think it is great that The Story Telling Method of Dream Interpretation has been used as a dream therapy for so many different cases. I was unaware of the beneficial effects of dream therapy before taking this course. In terms of expanding this therapeutic tool in practice, I would suggest trying this technique among children. In lecture it has been stated that children use modified techniques and I wondering if the same results would be shown. In addition, maybe researchers should look at the healthy mind and see if the results would satisfy their lifestyle even further. Perhaps, researchers could look and see if this benefits their everyday life, as well. Also, I wonder if you could use The Storytelling Method in a group. It might add further benefits to patients if they could use this technique and share with others. I feel like people generally like to share their dreams & this might add further insights.

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    1. Ashleigh-Anne GureckasMay 31, 2013 at 8:53 PM

      The fact that the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation has been translated into so many languages and can be seen used with people of such a wide array of various problems or disorders is quite amazing. One of the next logical steps I would like to see expanded on is continuity of the time when these dream interpretation methods are used with patients. To test with a variety of people with various issues at the very same time after a dream has occurred could help us understand if the Storytelling Method could be more effective closer to the time that the dream has been had, or not. The other step I hypothesize would be interesting for expanding research is not only testing this method with patients with issues such s depression or anxiety etc, but research the effects of the Storytelling method on average people's dream imagery, and also look at their levels of happiness, self confidence and clarity in waking life before and after starting "therapy" with the Storytelling Method to see if this method has impacts on these attributes of waking life for average people.

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    2. I think it would be difficult to tailor such a method to children, unless you focused on an older age group of children, such as 13-18. With younger children it may be harder for them to associate certain words and develop a story. I think if you wanted to explore this method in children younger than 13 years of age, their must be some guidance from an older relative or family member that can guide the child through the technique. However, this may cause less discovery since the parents may unequivocally introducing their own opinions of the dream rather than the dreamer coming to their own conclusions based on the story they create.

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    3. I personally found the Story Telling Method to be simple, yet very effective. I think an individual of any age or intelligence could follow the steps and get the desired effect from it. I also think that this method could be expanded to be used more on kids, and see if the results were still as positive. Using this method on individuals who are not experiencing any difficulty in their lives might be very eye opening and helpful for them as well, rather than those who are suffering and need the assistance. It is great that this method can help them, but maybe it can also better and assist them in smaller, day to day issues.

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    4. The progress that Story Telling Method has made, in terms of expanding into multiple languages, and used as a beneficial tool for patients is incredible. I agree with some of the previous thoughts that to continue research and practice of this therapeutic tool would be for children. Because Story Telling Method is used to modify dream imagery and nightmares children would be great candidates for a logical step of practice. From experience, as a child I had nightmares. It was hard on me and my family. Children are so delicate, as are the other patients that Story Telling Method has been helpful for. If Story Telling Method could help children modify their dream imagery and help eliminate nightmares I believe it would be very beneficial.

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    5. Danielle LachanceJune 3, 2013 at 7:18 AM

      I think it would be beneficial as far as research goes to test TSM outside of therapy sessions and see if the same significant results occur in those practicing the method without some sort of assistance, if this hasn't been a major area of focus already. If so, then I think the next step for practical purposes would be to make TSM more readily available to the general public in bookstores, etc., perhaps increasing its popularity to the levels of dream dictionaries, but having substantial scientific findings to support its effectiveness as a means of promoting it.

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    6. I was unaware of how useful The Storytelling Method of dream interpretation was until I took this course. The fact that it is used as a dream therapy to decrease negative dream imagery and nightmares is quite impressive. That also leaves me wondering how they are able to use the Storytelling Method as a therapeutic tool for treatment. Despite this unanswered question, I think that the next logical step for expanding as the posts above mentioned, is to relate it as a therapeutic method for children as well. One reason is because children, like adults, have nightmares as well, so this method would be a great tool in treating them.

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  2. Many researchers have shown that the Story Telling Method of Dream Interpretation is a useful tool which has been used in different area of mood disorders. As Samantha stated, the future research and clinical expension should include children and every ethnicity as well as healthy individuals to see the difference in results. This in fact will also yield better generalization.

    One thing that I'm curious about is that, different culture may have different meaning of their dreams and therefore, may not have the same effects as western culture.

    I agree with the above comment, the researchers should consider people with various issues or concerns including low income families.

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    1. Hi Rose Marcelles,

      First, I thought about the same theory as you mentioned in your discussion. Would TSM have different meaning in different cultures? But I realized that TSM is a method that is interpreted by the dreamers themselves which (I think) will not be affected by different cultures. If they are willing to interpret their dreams, what their dream imagery means will be up to the dreamers' interpretation. Therefore, TSM is a good method for anyone who is willing to interpret their dreams. The only thing I can think of a problem in different cultures would be people's belief of their dreams. Some cultures might still think dreams are not important in their waking life. If this is their attitude toward dreams, then it might be difficult use TSM.

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    2. Angelica Palillo-BucknallJune 2, 2013 at 1:08 PM

      You mentioned that TSM is interpreted by each individual leading to the thought that using TSM with different cultures wouldn’t really yield many differences. I would like to take the opposite point of view and say, but what if cultures highly influenced TSM and dream interpretations? I think that logically, the next step would be explore whether a relationship between culture and dream interpretations do exist.

      TSM could be used among various cultures around the world. I think it would be very interesting to see if any differences occurred that were unique to each culture. For example, cultures who have strong cultural beliefs may interpret their dreams completely different and uniquely, especially dreams that are religious or supernatural in nature. For example, in Japan there are beliefs of Gods and Goddesses such as Hotei or Hoderi. They are gods of luck and rulers of the islands. Hinduism on the other hand is an ancient religion where they believe in several gods and goddesses who come in the form of humans and animals. If a person of Hinduism dreams of an animal every night and finds through TSM that it was a Brahma or Ganesha, a person dreaming of this same animal may try TSM and find they are dreaming of an encounter with Hotei or Hoderi. In other words, cultural influences such as these can highly influenced a persons dreaming mind in ways that are unique to their cultural beliefs. The next logical step in TSM would be exploring whether culture influences dreaming and dream interpretation. I think results would be extremely interesting because people could see whether or not their religious beliefs or cultural values influence their dreaming mind.

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  3. I think The Storytelling Method (TSM) is a great therapeutic tool because it does not have any harmful side effect like some medications. As we know that medications are used to treat the symptoms, but they often have unwelcome side effects. For example, some antidepressants make people drowsy, causes obesity, or reduce libido. However, TSM is a tool to help individuals to interpret and understand their dreams without adding any substances to the body. TSM is a very safe and user friendly tool that can be used for individual self. By using TSM, individuals can be able to understand what their negative dream imagery and nightmares are trying to telling them in their waking day linking between their body and their mind. It would be a good alternative therapy for those people who are exhausted from their chronic illness. I think it is important to acknowledge TSM to as many people as possible through media or through the community.

    In terms of further research for TSM, I am curious to know the results of antidepressant as the only treatment for patients with depression compare to antidepressant conjunctive with TSM.

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    1. It is very interesting that the storytelling method has been expanded so other languages can use it but I think that more expansion in regards to language would be helpful so that even more languages can use this technique. I also agree with Rose regarding the cultural differences. Dreams mean many different things in different cultures even if they contain the same imagery; therefore it would be interesting to see if the storytelling method of dream interpretation still has this same positive effect in other cultures. I think this method would fit in to most cultures as stories and narratives are a large part of most cultures. I also agree with Samantha in that it would be interesting to try this technique with children and focus more on younger ages because storytelling is a huge part of children’s lives and can be adaptive for all ages. I think another interesting expansion of TSM research would be to examine any differences between patients who are undergoing some type of treatment and patients who are not receiving any treatment in terms of this therapeutic outcome. Do those who are receiving professional therapy for their depression have a more positive outcome when they use TSM compared to those who are not receiving any external therapy?

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    2. I think having The Story Telling Method of Dream Interpretation translated into different languages is a good step in introducing it to other culture and countries. I agree that the next step for TSM could be to have it used among children. If it is effective among youth, it is possible that it could be adopted into their daily life style, and continuously used as they grow older.
      Lindsay makes a good point, to research if TSM is more or less effective in individuals whom are in therapy compared to individuals whom are not. This could show whether a greater combined effect is present when TSM and clinical therapy is used at the same time.
      Introducing the method to physicians whom are treating the patients may also be effective at expanding this therapeutic tool. If you have the therapist who is treating a patient's depression or a physician who is treating an individual's cancer, see the positive affects of TSM, they will be more inclined to introduce the method to their patients. Also have research which shows that TSM can reduce the negative dream imagery which might contribute to a decreased quality of life. This research might be beneficial to increase the importance of TSM to individuals whom are experiencing negative dreams, which emotions and feelings are carrying over into their waking lives. Such with cancer patients whom already have a decreased quality of life from treatment.

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    3. I agree with the comments made by Samantha Baynton and Nicole Drumm in terms of testing The Storytelling Method (STM) for use with children. Its effectiveness as a dream therapy technique for use with adults has been so far-reaching that it would be wonderful if this technique could be helpful to children as well. Furthermore, the continuous use of the STM throughout the aging process, as Nicole mentions, would be beneficial as it may bring to light any issues (ex. depression, anxiety, etc.) for the person before they become a major problem and therefore can be properly dealt with.

      I also strongly agree with the point made by Ashleigh-Anne Gureckas in terms of using the STM to interpret the average person’s dream imagery in order to increase self-confidence, happiness, and joy in the waking day. If we expanded the practice of the STM to the general public then many more people would be able to reap the benefits of this therapeutic technique, which would hopefully increase the quality of their waking-day life.

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  4. As many people above have mentioned, there could be great value in using TSM in children, however, I think that in its current form, TSM would not be effective. By adapting this method, I think it could be made more child friendly, and therefore more useful. Depending on the age of the child, they may not know have the appropriate language skills to explain their dream, nor the abstract thinking to successfully word-associate. These would be potential barriers, but there may be easy solutions. Could the dream somehow be interpreted using pictures and images instead? If this type of interpretation is possible, it would be amazing to expand the knowledge to those individuals affected by speech problems. Instead of having to explain a dream in words, we might be able to have these individuals draw their dream scene or select the themes from pre-made images.

    Along these lines, it would also be interesting to look into dream interpretations for those individuals with visual impairments. This might be more on the research end of the spectrum as opposed to a treatment, but could provide valuable insight.

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    1. Hannah, I think you made a really interesting point regarding dream work with the visually impaired. After a quick look on Google, I could not find much in the way of research in this area.
      Jennifer Berbrier completed a review in 2002 regarding mental imagery and dreaming in adolescents with visual impairments and reported that the adolescents reported spatial layouts in dreams and also narrated and reported richness in dreams comparative to the non-visually impaired. Other studies have reported that when losing sight at a young age, people will not experience dreams with visual imagery (Wilkerson, 1995).
      I would also be very curious to know if TSM would work, or how it would work with visually impaired individuals. I would assume that when people lost their sight would have some impact on what kind of dreams they report.

      References:
      Berbrier, J. (2002). Mental imagery and dreams : Art therapy with visually impaired adolescents. Retrieved from Concordia University Libraries.
      Wilkerson, R. (1995). Dreams of the blind. Retrieved from: http://www.dreamgate.com/dream/articles_rcw/ed2-1bli.htm

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    2. I was just having a conversation today about whether those who are visually impaired dream or not, so it was nice to read your comment, Hannah. I also appreciate the research you found, Marsha- thanks for posting it. I was wondering if those who are born with visual impairment or lose their vision at a young age would dream using their other senses, such as hearing, smelling and feeling rather than seeing. This would be a very interesting area of research, as well as looking into those who lost their visual abilities later in life and how this affects their dreaming, as Mijung mentioned below. The TSM could be modified to accommodate those with visual impairment, for their own personal benefit as well as for the benefit of research on the subject.

      The TSM could also be used in practise and for the sake of research in the area of spirituality. I would be interested to see how a person's spiritual beliefs affect their dream imagery and the discovery that they achieve after completing a dream interpretation method such as the TSM.

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    3. I just have to say that is an excellent post, Hannah. I just had a really good conversation with a co-worker based on your ideas there.

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  5. Hannah Silk and Marsha Roscoe, both of you made really interesting points. Yes! I wonder how the dream imagery would be seen for those people with visual impairment. Would it be different or same?
    What about people who lost their sight after an accident in their later life? Would it affect on their dream imagery?
    What about people who has colour impairment? Would they have black and white dream imagery or maybe very colourful dream imagery due to compensate for their waking life?
    I can see how this dream interpretation can be expand widely.

    Just like what Hanna Silk said and many other students mentioned, TSM for children version would be a good way to interpret children's dream. However, in terms of discovery part… I think they might need help which might change whole point of the method of TSM.

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    1. Next steps might be to look at the cultural differences and how they affect dreams since it is available to use for individuals who speak Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. Although dreamers make the connections specific themselves, it might be worthwhile to look at what people from other cultures find salient in dreams and story and look into trends and patterns that might be present. Opening up the method to be available for other languages can also broaden and expand this type of therapy to other countries.

      The storytelling method also has the potential to be applied into practice with population groups such as children. However, there must be revisions made to make appropriate in accurately analyzing their dream. Developmental levels must be taken into consideration and perhaps using cognitive developmental theories to guide the wording and types of questions to ask children. There would be difficulties with children writing down their story so means to record dream can include audio or illustrative figures to represent the story. Children’s drawings are already known to represent what the child thinks about but may not vocalize. From analyzing the colour to figures and objects in the scenes may help researchers attempt to understand and explore salient imagery with the child. The storytelling method can be used to decrease nightmares so this might be a great avenue to venture for children having nightmares as well.

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    2. I actually disagree with the storytelling method being used on young children. I have three children and have interacted with many more, and I feel that unless they were led through the exercise, the average child would not be able to complete the activity. The amount of leading needed would confuse the child and lead to them 'arriving' at incorrect interpretations. Children are very instinctive creatures, yes, but they do not have the capacity at young ages to put together meaningful stories using strings of possibly unrelated words. If you are unconvinced, try it with the next 5 or 6 year old you meet. Most of childrens' stories come as a direct results of books they have read, stories they have been told and television shows they have watched. This would make them much more likely to fit the words into a story they are already familar with verses a novel story stemming from subconscious thoughts. Also, keep in mind that you would not likely be doing this excercise with the best and brightest children. You would more likely be trying this with children in therapy for nightmares, mental conditions or behavioural problems. I have met and have interacted with these children as well and can assure you that they would be unable to complete the story telling method without extrapolating from a previously heard story or being lead to an extent that the therapist might as well do the method him or herself.
      As another point, young children often cannot remember dreams with any kind of significant detail. Some of my four year old's friends have enough trouble discussing what they want for lunch, forget about remembering a dream with enough detail to write enough words down to be able to pick out important phrases. They also have significant difficulty understanding the concepts of best and significant. How would you explain these to a child with enough success to ever believe the results?

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    3. I agree with James here in that I don't believe the TSM would be beneficial for children as it would be difficult for them to remember their dreams in detail, hard to communicate what they do remember, and not be able to answer the follow up questions. In saying this, if the TSM were to be adjusted to specifically target children it may be significantly beneficial in order to help decrease their amount of nightmares. When I was a child I remember having a reoccurring nightmare that resulted in me being afraid of the dark. To this day I am still uneasy in the dark and fall asleep to a movie or a t.v. show. If this fear had been abolished when I was a child perhaps it would not be relevant today.
      I'm not sure if the method would be able to be altered to help children, but if it could I believe it would be beneficial for them to decrease their amount of nightmares.

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    4. Maureen PartridgeJune 2, 2013 at 7:47 PM

      I also agree that The Story Telling Method may not be useful with young children (under 10?). As a mother of two children I can say that I don't believe a child under 10 could relay accurately the dream and, associate the meaning to the imagery. Often times when children relay information, it does get grander with each re-telling, or the stories get mixed up between dreams, movies, experiences etc.

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  6. The next logical step to expand TSM beyond its current capacity in the research and clinical fields would be adapt it to different socio-economic statuses, cultures and intellectual deficits. Many different cultures present different meanings to words, and may not be inept to creating a story from words that may be irrelevant to their waking day life. I think adapting the story telling method to be more critical and reflective of dreams rather than quickly picking words that come to mind and developing a story based on words that have not been reflected on. I think by adapting the TSM to have non-verbal aspects of instruction or (non-language oriented instruction) may be more helpful to other cultures that may not use language in the context of reading and writing like Western cultures do. People with lower socio-economic status and individuals would intellectual deficits would also have to be accommodated with revisions to the TSM method. The reliance on words as symbolism for a story may hinder the dream interpretative process. I suggest that the TSM method be tailored to different cultures, and intellectual capacities. As stated above, children often represent stories that are familiar to them and that may be the case for people with intellectual disability and people with other cultures. Therefore, instruction on how to tap into the unconscious thoughts of your mind should be emphasized before beginning the TSM method.

    I also suggest the addition of an emotional content to the TSM method, because many people are often internalize emotions or do not understand to express their emotions appropriately. I think that incorporation of an emotional component to the story telling method seen in the 2A method, would provide a more reliable discovery rate.

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  7. As noted in the comment above I agree with making the storytelling method more modified to fit other cultural standards, as to help establish a more concrete meaning to dreams all over the world. Furthermore I agree with adding in an emotional aspect as it would further assist in the discovery of dreams. Possibly creating a step further in sharing the stories that people have made from their dreams which could allow for an incorporation of certain elements from the projective method-- this would be extremely beneficial for peers going through the same situations, for example patients who have all been diagnosed with cancer then sharing with other who have had the same or similar diagnoses.

    I also agree with the comments above discussing the benefits of TSM with children. Many children are familiar with the idea of a story and could help interpret their own dreams by communicating the important aspects (words) they remember to create a story out of them. I think this could allow for further research on the dream experiences of people at different ages, to then compare the vividness and extensiveness of the stories produced from TSM from all different age brackets.

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  8. I definitely agree with using the Storytelling Method of Dream Interpretation on different people, from all ages and backgrounds. I think it is possible to use this technique with children, however it depends on their circumstances. I think that with average children, this will not be easy and/or possible. If a child is experiencing nightmares, or some other sleep disorder, I think that using this technique could be more successful. Appropriate guidance should be given however, and possibly some adjustments in the techniques in order to target children more appropriately, since it has stated that children require different techniques. Given that, what are these “different” techniques used on children and how do they compare if one uses the STM instead?

    I also agree that the Storytelling Method should be used with different cultures since their dream imagery could mean different things. If the STM has been translated in varying languages, then it is important to take this notion into effect. Along with different cultures, I think there should be a religious aspect taken into consideration and if their religious affiliations are reflected in their dreams, since this was shown to have a powerful impact in the past.

    Furthermore, I think that it is great to know that the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation has been gaining attention in dream therapy with beneficial results and it is interesting to see and hear where this research goes in the future.

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    1. I think with assistance from an adult, a child could successfully complete the Storytelling Method of Dream Interpretation. The adult would have to ask the questions and write down what the child said if they were to young, but they could adequately answer the questions. Although the child might not be able to analyse their dream on their own, an adult could walk them through the process and maybe figure out where the nightmare is stemming from.

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    2. I agree an adult may be able to walk a child through the steps, but I also think it should be noted that the adult should not be related to the child or in some way be emotionally connected with the child. This could lead to a major conflict of interest, or even lead the child to not be honest about their dream in case their embarrassed or worried what that adult might do or think.

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  9. I agree with Aaron that the next logical step to expand TSM beyond its current use would be to adapt it to different cultures, statuses, and intellectual deficits. By adapting TSM to different cultures, statuses, and intellectual deficits it would prove to be beneficial for a much wider range of people and it would also able clinicians to use it as a therapeutic tool for more of their patients and/or clients. I think Aaron's point about adapting TSM to have a non-verbal and/or non-language aspect of instructions and interpretation would also be very beneficial to people because like he mentioned above some cultures don't use language in regards to reading and writing. Not only do some cultures not use language as a means to read and write, there are people with learning deficits that may not understand the purpose of the TSM or the insight that can be discovered when using TSM. Adapting it so all people can use it effectively would ultimately prove to be beneficial. I think that having an adapted version of TSM that caters to different cultures, statuses, and intellectual deficits would definitely be the next logical step to expand this method of dream interpretation so it is a useful therapeutic tool for research and practice. Aaron also makes a good point about adding an emotional element to TSM because this would help people gain insight about the emotions they're experiencing because like he mentioned, people often internalize their emotions and don't know how to express them properly. Perhaps merging TSM and the 2A method would prove to be a more valuable therapeutic tool in regards to research and practice rather than having the two separate methods.

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    1. The Storytelling Method's expansion is extremely beneficial, I think by expanding it usage across more severe mental disorders for example manic depression. I also think by using the TSM in conjunction with medication and therapy is an excellent treatment plan for many mental illnesses. I also believe that translating the TSM has been great, but I think that using the method on children with no mental or other illness, may not be ideal. Personally, I believe that it would create more over-thinking and harm. However, if a child is struggling with mental illness or an illness in general it may be beneficial to use the TSM to work through the child's inner feelings and thoughts.

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  10. I think there are three different ways that the Storytelling Method could expand for further research. First I believe by expanding the age range of those who use this method would help give further insight into the development of dreams as we age. Do they become more vivid? Do discoveries become more obvious? Do they become easier to remember?
    Secondly, I think studying dream interpretations over a wide range of cultures and religions would help for further expansion and research. There may be common factors that are associated with religions or cultures that may lead to further research. Also certain cultures and religions views towards dreams may be different cross-culturally and that may lead to some interesting discoveries in the future.
    Finally, I think the most interesting next step in the Storytelling Method would be to interpret the same dream at different times. Are the discoveries the same? Is new insight found? Do different aspects stand out later on? These aspects may be useful in dream interpretation as there may be multiple discoveries to be made from one dream. By returning to the dream at a later date an individual may be able to realize I discovery they misinterpreted or missed all together.

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  11. Prabhjot DhaliwalJune 2, 2013 at 1:11 PM

    I think the storytelling method of dream interpretation is a useful tool to decrease negative dream imagery among patients with disorders. I believe this method is not only safe (eliminates side effects) but also a cheaper method than medications. In further research, I think this method should be tested on patients who are also using other methods like medication and therapy to help their disorder as well as test on patients with the storytelling method being the only form of aid. This would be beneficial to see if the storytelling method alone is useful, or whether its more useful combined with other methods.
    Prabhjot Dhaliwal

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    1. It is great that The Storytelling Method (TSM) can be used as dream therapy to help so many people with different afflictions from so many different cultures. I think that TSM is a tool that can be used by most older youth and adults. In its current form, however, the method it is not accessible for younger children, as they do not have the higher-level thinking skills necessary to complete it. I think that a logical next step could be to create an accommodated version of The Storytelling Method that would reflect a more collaborative approach to be completed by a parent and child. While I agree that children could be influenced by their parents to some extent during this process, I think there is still value in having parents guide their children through the method to achieve some analysis and answers for children with dreams that are causing anxiety.

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    2. Sheena, I think you are very right. Children who experience trauma often develop disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse problems because of early trauma. It would be beneficial to tailor The Story Telling Method to the pediatric population as a means of treatment through prevention.
      Although it may require the participation of the parents to a certain extent, I think that children's ability to understand their own thoughts and feelings is much more developed than is often believed. It may even be easier for them to create a story that expresses their thoughts because they won't over-think it. Children's stories are straight forward full of archetypes and symbolism (like a Disney classic movie). I think TSM for children would be the next logical step in research.

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    3. Since it has been shown that the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation can be used as dream therapy to decrease negative dream imagery and nightmares, it is evident that it can serve as a productive tool to help a vast array of individuals.

      Although we know that the TSM has helped people suffering with illnesses and soldiers returning from war, it has yet to be established if certain groups have a higher success rate then others.

      I found that the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation was very helpful in uncovering concepts that were in my subconscious. It would be interesting to see if this could be used in scenarios where people are forgetting details of their past or even with criminals and individuals who were abused.
      In addition, it would be very interesting to observe what ethnic groups and genders find the TSM most helpful. Once this step is concurred, they next step would be to try the TSM with children and adolcenets.

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  12. I found the Storytelling Method (TSM) to be very well done and highly able to drag out the dreamers own connections and interpretations of the dream. I highly appreciate the fact that researchers translated this method into many different languages and has used it on a variety of different people from soldiers returning from war to those patients in a variety of pain. The amount and ability of TSM to assist people with dealing with their waking life and dreams is incredible to me. I believe that one of the next steps for TSM should be introducing it to victims suffering from abuse or neglect. I believe that it would highly assist in figuring out the reasons that they stay with someone who is abusive and also assist in finding conditions that are suitable for them when they are able to escape the abusive or neglecting behaviour. As other people have said I believe when the case is regarding children it would be more likely that TSM would have to be slightly altered to fit their ability to run through the process. I believe in regards to expanding the use of TSM, creating a child friendly version would be the most beneficial to researchers as it opens up a very large group of people that are able to use dream therapy. Other than that I also believe that using dream therapy and in particular TSM could be beneficial in creating a rehabilitation program for convicted criminals. It would show how they personally view their lives and may be able to provide feedback into their fears and reasons for committing or recommitting a crime.

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    1. I found this comment very interesting and I agree with everything that was said. hWen I was reading about introducing it to victims who have been abused or neglected I noticed that could fall under the category of 'relationship issues.' I think that the next step in developing this dream interpretation process would be to take the categories that research has already been completed on and divide them up (i.e. create sub-categories) to further specialize the process for individuals. The more options that are available the more people practitioners will be able to reach.

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  13. The storytelling method has proven to be a useful technique for individuals suffering from negative dream imagery associated with certain conditions. Some conditions that TSM has been used on consist of cancer and pain patients, soldiers with PTSD, individuals with anxiety or depression and recovering alcoholics. It would be interesting to see the effect of TSM on individual’s nightmares. This research would not be limited to recurring nightmares and individuals with pre-existing conditions. This type of research will allow for TSM to have a broader applicability to the public. Within this scope of research children would be a good candidate for the study. Children are often overlooked as a subject group due to their maturity level and language barriers. This would be a great opportunity to refine TSM. From personal experience, nightmares seemed to bother me more as a child. In summary, to expand the therapeutic tool of TSM research should be conducted on people without pre-existing conditions including children who have nightmares.

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    1. The storytelling method of dream interpretation was a very useful tool for myself in order to get a better understanding of what my dreams meant. I can see how this method could be very useful to people with anxiety and depression because it can help get to the root of the problem for any problem really. This method has helped me to get through some issues I never realized I had and my dreams have become more positive since.
      The next step for this method should be, like others have said, to not only conduct this method with children but to also see the effects and differences between cultures and gender. This would give researchers a better understanding as to how effective the method is. This could also help therapists change and fit the method to certain ages, genders and cultures to help discovery be met more often.

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  14. The idea that first comes to my mind for a logical next step in the research of TSM is to attempt to modify this method for children. I know this has been mentioned a few times above, and my next point that I had has also been mentioned above. My next point was that, in my experience, as a child you usually have more nightmares. Even if children don't have more nightmares, they have a harder time coping with them or understanding why they're happening. This can affect their sleep and therefore affect their mood and alertness during the day. If more research is aimed at modifying TSM to accommodate children and their nightmares, this could be used effectively in practice. Children could understand why they're dreaming about negative things and maybe learn ways to dream about positive things. What the children learn from their dreams could also help the parents assist their children live their lives in the way that makes them the happiest.

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    1. Courtney FriedrichJune 2, 2013 at 5:48 PM

      I completely agree that the next logical step is to aim the storytelling method towards children, and make it an accessible tool to them. DOing this can help children who are having nightmares, or negative dreams, to decrease the negativity of their dreams, like TSM has done for PSTD patients or cancer patients. I also agree with Miranda that modifying the method for children can allow for parents to help their children understand their dreams and feels, and possible help with their parenting approach.

      I think this method would be very successful when used with may different kinds of patients. I do think that it would be very interesting to conduct research on how this method works with different cultures, since it is being translated to different languages. Are they getting the same results? I also think looking at gender differences would be interesting because males and females seem to have very different thoughts, feelings and dreams.

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    2. I think that great progress has been made, and should continue to be made to provide this option for everyone. Therefore, research on children (like most have said) could be done to include children in the use of this therapy.It would also be interesting to look at differences between gender, mental health, and age. Men and women may be affected differently, and it would be interesting to see how they are. Although it was stated above that this therapy helps individual with PTSD and other anxiety/mental illnesses, it would be interesting to see the effects of this method on healthy individuals. Finally, it would be nice to see this expand throughout cultures. Although it has already been translated to several languages, a future step should be to continue to translate to other languages.

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    3. I agree with many other comments that The Storytelling Method should be used on healthy individuals as well, as understanding our dreams would benefit us even when we aren't looking for help.

      I think it would be interesting and beneficial to do further research and include the TSM in things like physiotherapy or physical illness related therapies. Since the TSM and other dream interpretation methods have been shown to signal or give insight into physical issues, this may help us recognize physical problems early enough to treat them or detect them when our bodies can't.

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    4. I too like some have already said found the storytelling method to be quite useful with the dream I interpreted for the last assignment. It is interesting to see the associations made between the symbols and important aspects of the dream and what can be associated with them.
      In terms of furthering research and therapy use for the storytelling method I think it could be used for children suffering from nightmares as I can speak from experience as nightmares being very disruptive to a young persons life. It would be interesting to see if the process used during the therapy could have a positive impact on childrens dream imagery simply because some children may not be able to think that absract in order to complete the Storytelling method successfully. I also think it would be interesting to compare the effect of the storytelling method based on gender, and which gender is more likely to result in a change in dream image.Finally like others have said, to continue to translate it over to even more languages and ethnicities and monnitor the success rate between these. From this im sure researchers could go even more in depth and begin to research possible cultural cause behind the differences.

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  15. Many of the noted benefits of TSM have been mentioned in the above comments, and I agree with TSM's effectiveness, simplicity and broad applicability to many mental ailments (i.e. depression, PTSD, nightmares, etc.). TSM has definitely proved its worth in field of dream research and dream therapy.

    Where research and practice should go from here is an excellent question. Again, many of the aforementioned ideas on developing further research to build a TSM tool suitable for children, or applying the TSM to people of everyday "normal" circumstances, I feel are all plausible steps forward. I also feel that research should be heavily focused on the long term effectiveness of continuous use of TSM in therapy, as well as its effectiveness as a stand-alone treatment, or in conjunction with other therapies, such as medication or other types of counseling. It would be interesting to see the results of these studies and the long term effects dream therapy has on clients, some using it as their only form of therapy, and others using it in conjunction with other therapy.

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  16. There have been some great ideas in this blog. Forgive me if someone has mentioned the bulk of this and I have somehow skimmed over it. I suppose I'm mostly building off of the excellent idea to gear this technique to a younger crowd, but here goes.

    I would love to see TSM enter the school curriculum in some form. The reason I say this is because at least for me, I used to have my most memorably weird and strange dreams when I was a kid with no exposure to a technique such as this. I absolutely wouldn't argue that this method is incredibly important and relevant in the lives of adults, especially those who are dealing with more unfortunate issues beyond your average joe. What I am saying is that at least for me, I could have really used a dream interpretation technique such as this when I was an anxious, awkward preteen or teenager going through the many "firsts" of my life. Had I been exposed to this technique during this time through the school curriculum or even some form of teen oriented television channel or something, I definitely would have benefited. Regarding the school curriculum, it is also worth mentioning that something as interesting as dream interpretation would have been absolutely fascinating to many of the kids in my schools growing up. Anything to make the school curriculum more interesting and engaging for a teenager is always a plus.

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  17. Since TSM is such a useful interpretation method, it is extremely logical to expand its use in clinical practice. I feel that the most logical step that could be made in increasing TMS’s use as a therapeutic tool would be to increase the public awareness of this dream interpretation method. Not only has this method proven to be extremely effective, but it’s so simple for the public to use. I don’t believe that people quite understand how beneficial and easy dream interpretation can be. If more people understood just how much they could improve their relationships, physical pain and mental health then perhaps TMS would be more popular. For instance, people could end up seeking psychological counselling or therapy, and possibly move on to medication for some of the issues they were experiencing. If they had simply known about dream interpretation and TMS, perhaps their issues could have been resolved right away.

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  18. Emily Reavie (0487529)June 2, 2013 at 7:25 PM

    Since TSM has been used in cases such as depression, relationship problems, recovering alcoholics, etc. there are important “next steps” to take. The next logical step for expanding this therapeutic tool in terms of research and practice would be to make this method aware to everyone. All cultures around the world should be exposed to this method now that it is translated into Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. They should continue to translate the TSM so that everybody can use it and experience the positive effects of it. Even people who do not have specific negative impacts in their life (drinking, relationships, etc.) should use this tool in order to better their waking lives. I also agree with another comment made above that spirituality should be researched to see if that connects with dreams and the TSM. Also, studying the TSM and using children as participants would be highly useful. We could use this to find out at young ages what people are experiencing in their waking lives that are having negative effects on them. If we could prevent these in children, as we have done in adults, then it would lead to a healthier life. This would reduce many issues that the child may experience in the future. TSM is a great tool that has lots of potential.

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  19. The next logical step for expanding the storytelling method for research would be to study the use of it on children who are troubled by nightmares or those being affected by a change in their family’s equilibrium, say by a divorce or the death of a family member. The production of a TSM for children, being easier to use by themselves or being easy to follow for the child if it were read by an adult, would be good for the practical aspect. It may also be quite beneficial to study its use on the elderly.
    It would be very interesting to see how the Storytelling Method would work when mentally retarded individuals use it. Of course, individuals with mental retardation more severe than mild may not be able to benefit from TSM because of their inability to communicate and interpret their dreams. High-functioning individuals with mental disabilities would be able to benefit as greatly as normal individuals.
    The most obvious way to expand the TSM would be to translate it into even more languages. If it was translated into the languages spoken in India and other places in the Middle East it could be used efficiently by millions more than it is at the moment.

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  20. Maureen PartridgeJune 2, 2013 at 8:01 PM

    I am quite impressed with the effectiveness of The Story Telling Method and that is only after using it one time. Many have mentioned using this method with children and across genders and cultures, but my suggestion for further research would be for those people (namely adults 18+) who were subjected to abuse as a child. I'm not sure if it is used for this type of issue, the original blog stated "relationship issues", but my thinking is after using TSM just once, so many things became clearer to me, and made me aware of things that I was feeling negatively about issues that were perhaps were out of my control. Helping abuse survivors (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal,etc) realize that what they are seeing in their dreams is a direct affect to the abuse they suffered in their waking day lives as children I feel would provide much clarity, relief and closure.
    I also like the idea of expanding the research and publishing it as a strategy for those with anxiety and mood disorders as mentioned in the previous blog.
    Finally, in regards to expanding the tool, my suggestion would be to simply make it more well known outside of the Psychology community. So many people would benefit and improve their emotional wellness from using TSM over looking up meanings in those dream dictionaries.

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    1. The Story Telling Method is a very effective way of translating your dream imagery and discovery into your waking day life and gaining insight from what your dreams are telling or trying to tell you.
      I found this method very useful when working with my dream in the first lab. I was able to gain more important information than I would have if I had not used any dream interpretation method.
      Writing, reading and thinking about your dream in the steps provided were easy to follow and any person would be able to follow the easy steps.
      This aspect of clarity and simple steps means that many people can use this method for dream interpretation rather than just clinicians. Getting the TSM into the hands of anyone who could benefit with this style of dream interpretation would be a good start for enabling more people to be used to this method.
      Some next steps that could be taken using the TSM could possibly be with children and recurring nightmares. Even night terrors that children usually have during stages of brain development, TSM could possibly reduce or eliminate the terrors for children. Also children are more creative at telling and making up stories that this method needs in order to work. A parent would also need to be familiar with the method but as I mentioned before it is relatively easy to follow.

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  21. The first word that came to mind upon reading this post was ‘communication.’ The Storytelling Method of dream interpretation has been translated into Italian, Spanish, and Chinese so that it can be communicated within those languages. The next step I would take would be to translate it into even more languages. To accommodate those who are blind instructions could also be given in Braille.
    I next considered the fact that people within different age groups communicate differently. I believe that research should be conducted to develop the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation for practical use on children. I believe it possible that dream imagery and nightmares have an even more profound effect on children than they do on adults. Furthermore, by introducing dream interpretation into a child’s life early I believe that they will be more apt to use it throughout their lives.
    My final suggestion is that future research/practice focus on addressing individuals without obviously handicapping emotional or physical health issues. Focus on healthy individuals who simply want to improve or maintain their lives; for example, improvements in dream imagery that generate the boost in confidence necessary for an individual to receive a promotion at work).

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  22. I believe that the story telling method is a great and effective way to look further into the meanings of our dreams and what they are saying about a person and their feelings. I believe telling your dream, then hearing it back and writing about it gives the dreamer different perspectives and can allow the dreamer to realise the way they feel about certain issues and situations. Someone near the top commented saying that maybe we should try using this method on people who are not having difficulties in their lives because it might be eye opening and I agree that this might be s good idea to try. I believe that people who are having difficulties with relationships, and other such problems should try using the TSM and see what happens.

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  23. I agree that using this techniques on a variety of people would be beneficial in order to determine the different types of outcomes that they are able to achieve with the Story Telling Method. Some people claim to dream less and possibly through practice and the interpretations that they achieve from the dreams that they do remember they would be able to determine what it is that causes them to have less recall than other individuals.

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    1. It is amazing that The Storytelling Method has been made available to a very broad range of people all around the world. I was unaware before taking this course about the storytelling method and all the positive outcomes it has. I believe that the next logical step for expanding this therapeutic tool is making it more known to the public. Without taking this course, I would have never known about this method of dream interpretation. I think that the next logical step for expanding this tool in terms of research and practice is to perhaps try this method with children. Perhaps by starting to use this method earlier in life, it would give them the tools to interpret their dream imagery from a young age and show children that it is okay to share their dreams and try and discover how the imagery applies to their life.

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  24. Although the Storytelling Method of dream interpretation can be used for a wide variety of individuals with different issues, it can still be expanded upon. One way to expand this therapeutic tool would be to have it translated in other languages, so it can be used by a greater amount of individuals. It would also be neat to see this method also used in individuals with visual impairments using a Braille version. This would also help researchers gain insight into the dreams of those with visual impairments. Another way this tool could be expanded upon is to make a child-friendly version, so that children could also interpret their dreams. I think the current therapeutic tool would be too difficult for some children to navigate. As many children have nightmares and/or experience negative imagery in dreams, I think this therapeutic tool would be very beneficial to children.

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    1. Bethany de KoningJune 3, 2013 at 7:38 AM

      If we know that the STM works for recovering alcoholics. The next logical step for expanding the STM in terms of research would be researching its effects on all other addictions such as smoking and drug addictions. Once the results of this research is known, it should then be incorporated into practice through incorporating it into addiction therapy as a common therapeutic tool used to help with negative dream imagery and nightmares associated with the addiction. Incorporating the tool into practice and into health centers will make it more widely known to the health care professionals, who in turn can suggest it to be used for other patients. In doing this, the public will become more aware of the tool and start to practice it.

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  25. I feel that STM would be a useful tool for not only recovering alcoholics but other additions as well. I agree with it being translated into other languages so it can be helpful for more individuals around the world. I also think the story telling method should be incorporated into the education system. Why I say this is because everyone dreams and has some issues with night mares at some point in their lives. If we can educate younger people about STM and how to work with it, this may help certain disorders or negative sleeping patterns from developing in adults. Showing children how dreams work and apply to their waking life would be very beneficial i think.

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    1. While the STM is a very useful tool and as mentioned has been used as a dream therapy to decrease negative dream imagery and nightmares with cancer patients, pain patients, soldiers returning from war, people with anxiety and depression, recovering alcoholics, and with relationship issues.However, the next logical step for expanding this therapeutic tool in terms of research and practice could be modifying the method to a certain extent to include children (because children's minds are not fully capable to remember their dreams in details) also as mentioned earlier having the STM available to the general public would be very beneficial as many may not know about this method of dream interpretation. Perhaps using the STM to examine individuals with disorders or certain deficits may be of interest, and provide us with insight we did not necessarily have before. Also examining people with mood disorders and examining how the STM impacts their dream imagery and interpretation. Lastly perhaps opening this up to groups, and doing comparisons among people with different personalities, etc. Also greater insight may appear when using this method in groups.

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  26. I believe the story telling method is a very effective way for those to deal with PTSD, depression, recovering alcoholics etc. I had no idea the wide spread use of this method until this course, evident from being providing in so many languages. I believe the next steps for using this method is making it more widely attainable to the public using education programs. I had not heard about this method until this course, and should be more wide spread to other therapies not only just dream interpretation.

    As mentioned above, using the story method for children would be a very interesting idea. Many children already express their distraught symptoms through stories and or somatisize symptoms. This might make it easier for children to communicate with the therapist. Even though children are very unique and due to their creativity may make it difficult to interpret dreams, more research discovering the therapeutic affects on children would be very valuable.

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  27. In terms of the next steps of The Storytelling Method as it relates to research and practice, it has been noted that using this therapeutic tool on children and individuals dealing with PTSD and drug addictions could be very beneficial. More specifically individuals who have returned from violent war zones and have seen many brutal and cruel acts done to others may have developed a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. These unfortunate after-effects of battle may stay with an individual long after they are home from war. Many people who suffer from this disorder often have difficulty sleeping, staying asleep and often have nightmares where they dream that they were back in battle and reliving the traumatic events of war. The Storytelling Method could be very beneficial in helping individuals suffering from PTSD because the STM could help the individuals work through the dreams and nightmares they are having in order to sleep better and have less traumatic nightmares. By looking at and working through their dreams, they can effectively be working through the trauma that they experienced in real life and help them to feel better again and get back to their post-war lives. As we know, dreams are manifestations of waking thoughts and feeling and working through these traumatic experiences through the use of the STM can help these veterans cope with the visual horrors they have experienced. By making stories that they can interpret and put meaning to can help these individuals regain their lives again. By using this therapy along with other therapies the STM can help sufferers of PTSD with this specific area of their daily lives because dreams are very integral to our waking lives.

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    1. I think that the Storytelling method of dream interpretation is very beneficial in discovering the often hidden meanings to our dreams. As dreams are often continuous to what we experience in our daily lives they provide a focal point to determining what it truly is that our unconscious mind is trying to tell us.

      This form of dream interpretation I think would be beneficial as Rebecca states to those suffering from Post traumatic stress disorder and would provide insight and draw meaning from the terror they experience and work through it to perhaps reduce the anxiety associated with certain situations or memories.

      I also think that it would be beneficial to use this method with people who are experiencing chronic pain. I would guess that those who are living with chronic pain would have very negative dream imagery or perhaps dreams of being pain free. The Storytelling method would be beneficial to them to gain perspective on their pain and perhaps an avenue to help them cope with their chronic pain.

      I

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  28. I believe the story telling method is very beneficial for people to gain some insight to their personality and also issues they are facing that comes out during their sleep. The next step I would think is relating culture to the dream. Or how language impact dreams. For example in Hungarian there are two different meanings for love, a love for a mother and a intimate love for a man. Also the same for death, a dog does not die the same way as a person and saying so is insulting. So in short understanding the context of culture to dreams or language to dreams. Christine Dunn

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  29. Shadiya GouldbourneJune 3, 2013 at 6:29 PM

    The story telling method has been quite beneficial in dream interpretation. The meanings derived from dreams are more directly related to the waking life, with those who use this method. The fact that the associative words are very impulsive of the dreamer, the story is more natural and true to the individual. I feel that this method is perfected in the best way it can be, the associations only hold meaning to the dreamer so their interpretation should only be true to themselves. I believe the next logical step for this tool would be to not only look at their story content, but the wording and structure of the story. Also it would be interesting to look at how religious and spiritual beliefs of the participants might affect the dream imagery.

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  30. The next logical step for expanding this therapeutic tool in terms of research and practice would be to apply The Storytelling Method of Dream Interpretation to an even wider range of individuals and uses. Not only is the method useful for these specific groups (e.g. recovering alcoholics, etc.), but it is highly beneficial in terms of guiding the individual to a better understanding of their own waking life. Rather than purely being seen as a therapeutic tool for those undergoing a wide variety of issues in their waking lives, The Storytelling Method of dream interpretation can be used by anyone to become more aware of their dreams, and therefore more aware of themselves.

    ~ Ellen Coombs

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  31. The next step for expanding this therapeutic tool in terms of research and practice could be to add on further to the dream interpretation by using the 2A method, then the projective method. For the storytelling method doesn’t always reveal dream interpretation, these further methods could help with those who are having trouble finding meaning behind their dreams. However, the storytelling method is very simple and easy to use, I do believe to further it even more, it could be something offered as a class or a workshop for people to take. Therefore, it is not just helping those in dream therapy but the general public who want to understand further the meaning behind their dreams.

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  32. Elizabeth SalisburyJune 5, 2013 at 6:58 PM

    The Story Telling Method of dream interpretation has a very high rate of discovery and is accessible and user friendly for both clinicians and dreamers alike. For these reasons, it is easy to understand why this method of dream interpretation has found its way into multiple areas of therapy and available in many different languages. I believe that the next logical step for the Story Telling Method of dream interpretation is to continue its expansion into other areas of therapy and also other languages. Also, it would make sense for the STM to be used with other forms of addiction and disorders including substance misuse and eating disorders for example. 

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