AN EMBODIED APPROACH TO JUNGIAN DREAM INTERPRETATION
Let your body guide you to the deep wisdom of your unconscious psyche.
"To experience a dream and its interpretation is very different from having a tepid rehash set before you on paper. Everything about this psychology, is in the deepest sense, experience; the entire theory, even where it puts on the most abstract airs, is the direct outcome of something experienced.”--CG Jung
WHAT IS DREAMWORK, & WHY WOULD I DO IT?
Jung believed that our dreams are messages from our unconscious mind-- those parts of our psyche that we can't consciously access during waking life, but which have a much more holistic view of our lives and our purpose.
Think of your unconscious mind like a best friend that knows *everything* about you-- your darkest secrets, your deepest fears; the ugly truths you’d rather not face; the brilliant qualities you can’t own up to.
Every night, through dreams, this friend does its best to communicate with you, to share with you the pieces that are missing from your conscious (waking) mind. It tries to tell you what you’ve been ignoring; it points out your blind spots; it tells you where you’ve been missing out, and shows you where you’re stuck. Sometimes it offers comfort, and other times it warns us of danger.
Working with dreams, in my experience, is often the missing piece to help us to understand what we really need; where to go next; what lies beneath the surface. But just like our honest friend, we may find the truth difficult to hear, and we can’t do it alone. Just like we can’t see the back of our body without a mirror, it is almost impossible to “see” the truth in our dreams unless we share them with someone who can reflect it back to us in an empathetic (but more objective) way.
As a Jungian dream coach, my role is not to interpret dreams for you, but to work with you together with the dream to understand the messages it's wanting to share. This process itself is often an enlightening experience.
The body cannot lie: when we land on the truth of a dream, we feel it in our body physically: a response that tells us we're moving closer to wholeness.
WHY A SOMATIC APPROACH?
Trying to decipher the weird and wonderful language of dreams in an intellectual way can leave us feeling confused, detached, and disembodied-- and with no real clue about what they're trying to say.
Through an embodied approach to Jungian dream interpreta, we can feel into the metaphors and symbols of our dreams-- mapping the wisdom of our unconscious into our waking life, so we can truly know where we're meant to go.
GROUNDED IN EMPATHY AND CARE: TRAUMA-INFORMED DREAMWORK
Dreams allow us to communicate directly with those parts of ourselves that we've had to be disconnect; unraveling their symbolic language can help us to integrate lost parts; make sense of our past; and realign with our sense of our life's purpose.
Applying a trauma-informed, somatic (body-based) approach to Jungian dream analysis allows us to access the wisdom of your dreams in a safe and compassionate way. Your body will tell us how to proceed. Working together, you are in the driver's seat as we apply curiosity and kindness to befriend your dreams, which can soften the sometimes-intense emotion that might accompany them.
“When the great swing has taken an individual into the world of symbolic mysteries nothing comes of it, nothing can come of it, unless it has been associated with the earth, unless it has happened when the individual was in the body. Otherwise you were not there when it happened… and later whatever you experienced outside of the body, in a dream for instance, is not experienced unless you take it into the body, because the body means the here and now.”
-CG Jung
SOMATIC DREAMWORK FAQ:
ARE YOU TAKING NEW CLIENTS?
I have limited space for new clients, but would love to talk to you about working together with dreams.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE MEET?
This type of work is most effective when it is consistent; whether that's weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly is up to you.
WHAT DO WE DO DURING SESSIONS?
My clients may share their dreams with me beforehand via a shared document, or by email. Together, we'll review the dream , and "work" it together through dialogue, imagination, and creative practices.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
Dreamwork is especially potent if you are curious about your dreams! This work is for anyone who is drawn to it. It's a wonderful addition to other therapeutic work you may be doing as it adds insight that your conscious mind may struggle to connect to. However, dreamwork may not be appropriate for you if you are experiencing active trauma symptoms and/or do not have other qualified mental health care support, such as a licensed therapist.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
Sessions are $140 USD/hour. While I have a limited amount of sliding scale spaces available, these are currently full. Preference is given to BIPOC and LGBTQ2S, those living with disabilities, and those living with lower income. If these apply to you, please contact me to be added to the sliding scale waitlist.