Dream Diary

Has your T asked you to keep one?

Do you find it insightful? Does your T interprete your dreams with you?

No, but I've never taken him for much of a dream guy. I'm not really either. On occasion I'll have a dream related very specifically to my history and it will come up, but I can count those instances on just a couple of fingers.

I do have two or three recurrent dreams that I am aware of and I completely get where they are coming from and what they mean, so we don't really have need to discuss them anyway.

I'm sure if my sleep was being disturbed by dream issues, we'd talk about it, not so much that he'd be all that interested in the dreams themselves, but he is always concerned if my sleep is disturbed and would work on getting to the what can I do now to get the sleep back in line.

Some therapists are really big into dreams and dream interpretation though. Have you asked your therapist about this possibility for you?

Sometimes I've took my dreams to T and she's interpreted them... there was a while where I was dreaming a LOT, really weird, intense dreams. I don't dream so much anymore. I do still jot some of my dreams down.. I think it can be valuable sometimes

Yes. I was asked to start a dream journal. I believe to know what is going on in my subconscious. I also have nightmares and disturbed sleep. I'm curious as to others experiences with using dream journals. I usually never remember my dreams but now that I am writing them down right when I wake up I do remember, and they are interesting.

No, my T has not asked that I keep a dream diary...But, if I have a particularly alarming, or unnerving dream, I add it to my journal page, so I can ask her in our next session, what she thinks it might mean...

Two dreams in particular, The first, I had a dream about a two headed snake, and the other, I was in a maze and T was calling my name, and kept saying, I'm over here, but I just couldn't seem to find her.....

What did T say this meant?

I had a similar one when I was seeing my old T.

My T is very much into dreams and I always bring in the ones I can remember. I think they're fascinating and we always talk about them. A lot of them have been kind of spooky the way they mirror what is going on in therapy. In one I was taking a bath in a locked bathroom, and some man just kind of pushed his way in through the door and stood there looking at me. I couldn't see his eyes because he was wearing glasses where the lenses were shattered. He wasn't threatening at all, but he just didn't belong there. I yelled at him to get out, but he just kept moving slowly toward me like he was watching me with no expression on his face at all. I wasn't scared, just annoyed. Finally I got out of the tub - naked of course - threw on my bathrobe and pushed him out the door. He didn't resist.

As we discussed it, it turned out the man was T (he said "sometimes we're in disguise"). Me naked meant that I was vulnerable and exposed, and T was seeing me in that state. The way I behaved shows that I'm not scared of him, but very uncomfortable, and I'd throw him out of my private space if I could. Actually, that's exactly the way I feel, so it was really interesting to see it all spelled out in the dream.

Sunne, if your T has asked you to keep a dream journal, why not try it? There may be some you don't want to share, but that's always your choice whether you want to tell T about them or not.

I love dream interpretation in therapy. It makes me wish I could remember my dreams, but I don't usually remember. I think they are always interesting, another way our minds are fascinating.

It was a while back, but I think she said it meant that I was trying to find my way in therapy.

Oh my yes! I've been recording my dreams (in a notebook I keep by my bed) since November when I started seeing t and a big part of my therapy is the dreamwork we do together. It's so fascinating. She usually has me read each installment in my dream journal outloud but sometimes I'm too embarrassed so I tell her to read it to herself which she does. I always bring 2 copies one for each of us and we both take notes on them. She has quite a folder already of my dreams LOL as I am a writer by nature, with a very active imagination/active dream life, so there's lottsa pages. Sometimes I am just so stunned by her thoughts on interpretation because they can be so exactly right on target, even though I never would have put two and two together, that my mouth just falls open in amazement. I think you should try it! Heck I think everybody should. I love reading back through my dream journal as time goes by and seeing the common thread that seems to weave throughout all of the dreams. Really cool stuff. I hope you are able to get something out of it! It's been really beneficial for my therapy.

He hasn't asked me to keep a journal specifically, but encourages me to share dreams I have if I feel comfortable doing so. He is big on dream analysis, and we have had some very interesting discussions and gained insight from several I've had.