Suitable for:

• Psychologists.
• Psychotherapists.
• Psychoanalysts.
• Psychiatrists.
• Psychology students.
• Mental health professionals interested in dream work and psychoanalytic theory.

No prior specialized training is required. Basic familiarity with psychoanalytic concepts is recommended.

Overview

Dreams are not merely images of the night; they offer a unique pathway into the inner world and provide valuable access to unconscious processes, self-understanding, and therapeutic transformation. This workshop explores the major psychoanalytic perspectives on dreams, beginning with Freud’s foundational theory and extending to the contributions of Jung and Lacan.

Participants will examine how different psychoanalytic schools conceptualize the function of dreams, from wish fulfillment and symbolic expression to language, subjectivity, and psychic revelation. The workshop also introduces transformational and visionary approaches to dreaming, highlighting the work of Hildegard of Bingen and Peter Kingsley as perspectives that view dreams as experiences of profound psychological and existential transformation.

Through theoretical exploration and clinical reflection, participants will develop a richer understanding of dream work and its role within psychotherapeutic practice.

Teaching Methods

• Interactive lectures and presentations.
• Clinical examples and dream material analysis.
• Comparative exploration of psychoanalytic dream theories.
• Reflective discussions and group dialogue.
• Application of dream concepts to psychotherapeutic practice.

Training Duration & Schedule

Total Duration: 8 Hours

Foundations of Dream Theory

• Freud: Dreams as wish fulfillment and a pathway to the unconscious.
• Jung: Dreams as symbolic and archetypal expressions of the Self.
• Manifest and latent dream content.
• Types of dreams:               
  

     *Compensatory dreams

     *Transformative dreams

     *Prophetic dreams

• Dreams and the process of individuation.
• Listening to dreams as unfolding psychological processes.

Lacanian Perspectives on Dreams:

• The dream structured as language.
• Metaphor, metonymy, and displacement.
• The subject’s symbolic position within the dream.
• The Real in dreams:

     *Trauma

     *Jouissance

     *The unrepresentable

• Dreams and historical trauma.
• The dream as an encounter with the unconscious Other.

Transformational Dreams:

• Hildegard of Bingen and visionary dreaming.
• Peter Kingsley and dreams as an entry into radical stillness.
• Dreams within sacred and visionary traditions.
• Parallels with Jung’s major dreams.
• Dreams as moments of psychological and spiritual transformation.
• Clinical perspectives on transformational dream experiences.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the major psychoanalytic theories of dreams.
• Differentiate between Freudian, Jungian, and Lacanian approaches to dream interpretation.
• Understand the structure and psychological functions of dreams.
• Recognize the role of dreams in unconscious communication and psychic development.
• Develop foundational skills for working with dreams in psychotherapy.
• Apply dream concepts to clinical reflection and case understanding.
• Enhance their capacity for both personal and professional dream interpretation.
• Appreciate the transformational and symbolic dimensions of dream experience.