An Atheoretic Bidirectional Experiential Group Approach to Working with Dreams

An Atheoretic Bidirectional Experiential Group Approach to Working with Dreams

Despite their universality, interest in dreams has focused almost exclusively on their clinical usefulness. Until recently there has been no serious attempt to make dreams available to the general public. Any such attempt would have to be consistent with the basic phenomenological features of dreaming consciousness and would have to take into account the vulnerability of the dreamer. The group process to be described is bidirectional. It is particularly useful in the training of clinicians for dream work, but is equally applicable to anyone with an interest in what their dreams have to say. The process is structured to generate trust and maintain the safety of the dreamer. The dreamer and the group interact in a variety of ways to facilitate the flow of relevant associations without ever being intrusive.