ABSTRACT

The Nuts and Bolts of Dream Groups: A practical workshop

Ann Goelitz, CSW  Linda Yates, MSW
Agoelitz@yahoo.com.

Ann Goelitz, CSW, is a clinical social worker affiliated with Project Liberty, a program for survivors of 9.11, at Safe Horizon in New York City. Her areas of specialization in private practice include dreamwork, illness, trauma recovery, end-of-life care, and bereavement. She conducts dream groups and workshops for the medically ill and bereaved. Her publications include two articles on her dreamwork with cancer patients.

Linda Yates, MSW, is a clinical social worker with a private psychotherapy practice in Simsbury, Connecticut, specializing in work with eating disorders and also with dreams. She has been involved with dreams, dreamwork and Jungian psychology for over 10 years, forming dream groups and giving public talks on dreams in a variety of settings. Linda is a published poet, singer and believer in the use of the arts as a healing modality.

Summary of Presentation

Learning Objectives.

To learn, improve skills and share ideas related to:

• Dream group formation and facilitation
• Specific techniques for making dream groups effective
• Ways to use dreamwork to enhance group processes – increase cohesion, reduce conflict and navigate transition

Evaluation questions:

• What are the steps in forming a dream group?
• What are the skills needed to successfully facilitate dream groups?
• What are some of the difficulties frequently encountered in the group process and how can dreamwork help?

Abstract 

Dream groups can be an effective means for working with dreams. It has been shown that the use of dreams promotes early group cohesiveness, encourages the sharing of personal information among group members, and makes it easier for them to discuss difficult issues. Thus, dream work can enhance the benefits and alleviate some of the difficulties associated with traditional support groups.

Successful dream groups require skilled leadership. For instance, the propensity for early self-disclosure and sharing in dream groups could be problematic. Dream work requires a secure group environment that allows members to tolerate the level of intimacy involved. Without this, group members may feel exposed and anxious about what their dreams reveal. Dream group leaders need to know how to establish a safe space for sharing. They also need to know how to handle difficult group dynamics such as conflict or tedium, often related to the roles members act out in dream group sessions. Specific skills required include:

• Formation skills – planning, recruiting/marketing, and screening
• Facilitation skills – attending, inviting participation, reaching for feelings, providing information, fostering cohesion

This workshop will present tips on how to create successful groups. Practical information will be provided as well as an experiential component in which participants will be encouraged to contribute their ideas. In the first part of the session, the workshop leaders will outline the process of forming and facilitating a dream group. As the steps are outlined, the participants will use them to come up with a plan for forming their own one-session practice dream group. With the help of the workshop leaders, they will choose group facilitator/s and decide on a format for the group. Participants will be chosen and assigned predetermined roles (such as monopolizer, mistruster, victim, isolate, and helper) for the enactment of a live dream group. Workshop leaders and anyone not participating in the practice group will observe and call time-outs for questions and suggestions as the group proceeds. The workshop will end with a review of the practice group process and recommendations for the development of exciting new dream groups.

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