Client experiences and understandings of dreams in contemporary Australian psychological practice: An IPA study.

Abstract

Identifying and understanding the beliefs, experiences, and expectations of clients around dreams in psychological practice can assist psychologists to avoid or minimize unintended, negative consequences of mismatches in expectations between the client and the psychologist. In this study, 5 adult Australian clients undertook semistructured interviews in which they explained their experiences and perceptions of dreams in psychological practice. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach was used, and the themes emerging from the analysis clustered around participants’ experiences (with emotions ranging from feeling pressured, frustrated, or vulnerable, to feeling relief or validation), and their underlying assumptions or rules, around what to share (or not share) with whom, and when. The participants’ explanations for their experiences and opinions reflected their underlying individual and sociocultural understandings of both psychotherapy and dreams, with references made to dream beliefs, the stage of therapy, and psychologist cues. The findings highlight the value of approaching therapy (and dream sharing in therapy) from a social/cultural practice framework. This framework understands interactions or exchanges between psychologists and clients as being influenced by a range of cultural assumptions, which both parties bring into the therapy room with them.