Sharing What We Know About Dreams

Dreams have been written about in the scholarly literature since the beginning of time and more recently, dream research has allowed for a more accurate understanding of the dreaming mind. As scientists, we have a good general understanding of dreams and how they link to the dreamer's life. However, the general public is still mostly unaware of how their dreams link to their lives and often believe that dreams do not have meaning. Despite the vast body of evidence that: 1) dreams have meaning for the dreamer, 2) dreams can help dreamers with waking day issues, and 3) dreams are a problem-solving, emotion-regulating mechanism, people are still unaware of the value of their own dreams. How can researchers get this information out to the general public in a way that will help them understand their own dreaming mind?

Self-Directed Dream Therapy vs Therapist Assisted Dream Therapy

There are two major streams of dream interpertation or dream therapy that are practiced today. One is therapist assisted therapies such as the Hill Method or Jungian Analysis. The second is self-directed such as TSM or The Delaney Method. The concern often posed by clinicians is that people have too many blind spots and resist learning something about themselves that is going to bring discomfort. Therefore, people prefer to keep some material unconscious rather than bringing it into the conscious mind because it will change their waking day life.

If this is the case (and it appears to be true at some level) than when is it appropriate to use self-directed methods, and, when should a therapist assisted method be chosen?