On Dream Work (and Why It Matters)
Digital artwork by Sarah Tucker
"The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego..." -Carl Jung
Most of us have had the experience of waking from a dream that felt so bizarre, or vivid it stayed with you all day. Often, dreams get brushed off as meaningless—or interpreted through quick symbolic “dictionaries” that tell us a snake means danger or water means emotions. But dreams are far richer than that. They are gateways to the unconscious, and when we learn to work with them, they can become allies, guides, and healers in our lives.
What Is Dream Work, Really?
In depth psychology, especially through the work of Carl Jung, dreams are understood as the psyche’s natural way of regulating, processing, and guiding us. They are not random static from the brain, but living expressions of the unconscious. Modern research now echoes this: studies show that REM sleep and dreaming play a vital role in emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and even trauma processing. In other words, our dreaming mind is actively helping us heal and integrate.
Dream work, then, is the practice of paying attention to this inner language—of engaging with our dreams not as puzzles to be solved, but as symbols to be in relationship with.
Dreams and the Right Brain Connection
Dreams speak in the language of image, metaphor, and feeling. In neuroscience terms, they engage more of the right hemisphere processing—less linear, more holistic, more associative. So we are accessing parts of us that don’t speak in neat sentences: the body, the imagination, the felt sense, the soul.
Because dreams bypass the censoring, editing, overthinking faculties of the mind, they can bring forward unconscious material—offering us themes, tensions, and wisdom that are useful for healing, integration, and insight.
Symbols vs. Signs
One important distinction in dream work is the difference between signs and symbols.
A sign is direct and literal—it points to something known: e.g. a stop sign means “stop.”
A symbol, on the other hand, points beyond itself to the unknown. It is rich, multiple, open to exploration. A snake in a dream isn’t always “danger” or “poison”—it might be transformation, instinct, healing, fear, or something else altogether.
If we treat dream images like signs and try to fix their meaning too soon, we flatten their life. But if we treat them as symbols—doors into deeper layers—they remain alive, generative, and responsive.
What Modern Research Says
Contemporary science has confirmed what depth psychology intuited long ago: dreams matter.
REM dreaming is tied to emotional processing and regulation. The brain revisits emotionally charged material in a calmer chemical environment, helping us process without overwhelm. Some argue that this is what we replicate in EMDR reprocessing therapy with the eye movements.
Dreams support memory consolidation and problem-solving—many creative breakthroughs and scientific discoveries have emerged from dream states.
Clinical research shows that structured dream work (like imagery rehearsal for nightmares) helps reduce trauma symptoms, especially in PTSD.
Some neuroscientists even describe dreaming as a form of “overnight therapy,” where the psyche reorganizes and integrates experience.
So while dream work is ancient, it’s not just poetic — it has a foothold in what we know about how the brain and psyche heal and reorganize.
Why I Invite Dreams Into Therapy and/or Personal Work
From where I sit as a therapist and guide, here’s what I see dreams doing for people
Revealing what is hidden. Dreams may show what is beneath habitual patterns, defenses, or blind spots.
Offering symbolic remedies. The images can suggest ways to approach inner conflict, transformation, repair, or growth.
Bridging inner and outer life. Dreams often mirror or foreshadow things in waking life—so they help us see links between internal states and external dynamics.
Healing through relationship. When a client and I approach dreams together, we create a relational bridge to unconscious parts, giving them voice and acknowledgment.
Regulating the psyche. Dreams help diffuse tension, integrate emotion, and reorganize psychic energy.
Dreams often offer wisdom from within that may otherwise be difficult to access.
Active Imagination Exercise
Active imagination, a practice that was developed by Carl Jung, is a simple way to begin working with dreams:
Choose a recent dream, and recall one image that feels vivid or evocative.
Find a quiet space. Close your eyes. Breathe. Feel your feet on the ground. Invite that image to appear in your inner mind’s eye. Let it settle.
Ask — silently or out loud — a question. For example:
“Why are you here?”
“What’s your message to me now?”
Pause. Notice what arises: words, colors, feelings, body sensations, memories, gestures, or silence. Let the image speak in its own way. Instead of trying to “grab” a response, see if you can receive an impression. You may continue to inquire.
When you feel complete, gently thank the image. Then you may reflect on what you experienced. You can journal, draw, dance or speak it.
Over the next day or two, stay open to how this image or message might show up in your life—what small nudges it gives you.
This is not about “getting the right answer”—it’s about entering a conversation with the psyche and opening that small hidden door.
Dreams remind us that our inner life is vast, creative, and purposeful. When we pay attention to them, they become guides—offering direction, balance, and sometimes even healing. By weaving dream work into therapy and personal practice, we reconnect with the deep intelligence of the unconscious, which is always working on our behalf.
