Jungian Dreams Workshop

The workshop is open to psychotherapists, counsellors, or therapists of any modality with an interest in working with dreams. The ability to openly engage with the reading material is an essential part of the group’s discussions.

6 Saturdays, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm on Zoom

10:00 – 11:30:  Seminar led by an experienced Jungian Analyst on different aspects of dreams.

11:30 – 11:45:   break

11:45-13:00:      Practical engagement with a dream, or dreams, provided by the participants from either their own experience or that of their clients/patients -with Jane Desborough

There are no entry requirements for this course. Suitable for anyone in the counselling, therapy and allied fields who can use this information to expand and deepen their connection with clients and patients.

Standard – £540

Early Bird – £500 (until 30th June 2023)

Trainee – £475

Please note that the bpf will not be held responsible for travel/hotel expenses made or incurred in the unlikely event of this course either being cancelled or postponed. See our cancellation and refund policies for more information.

October (date to be confirmed) – The Initial Dream- Dr. Yoram Inspector

‘Initial dreams which appear at the very outset of the treatment, often bring to light the essential aetiological factor in the most unmistakable way’ (CW 16, para 296)

In this seminar we will explore the significance of initial dreams, what they can tell us about the dreamer and the degree to which they might signpost crucial aspects of the therapeutic process that may follow.

Dr. Yoram Inspector is a Consultant Psychiatrist and a Jungian Analyst, a member of the SAP and the New Israeli Jungian Association.  He was trained in Medicine and Psychiatry in Israel. His medical doctorate explored the psychiatric aspects of heart transplantation. He worked for many years in the field of Eating Disorders Psychiatry and is Head of Psychological Medicine Unit of St Mark’s Hospital which provides psychotherapy to patients who suffer from various gastrointestinal diseases and disorders.

November 11^th – Dream in Art and Literature – Rupert Tower 

This seminar will explore dreams as deep and meaningful products of the mind that can guide us towards greater wholeness as individuals in our individuation process; and as a creative source to bring purposive healing and balance to our conscious attitude as well as symbols of communication with the unconscious.

In his Red Book, Jung spoke of dreams: “I must learn that the dregs of my thought, my dreams, are the speech of my soul. I must carry them in my heart and go back and forth over them in my mind, like the words of the person dearest to me. They are the guiding words of the soul”. (Red Book Liber Novus, Shamdasani, Ed. 2009, p.233)

We will examine symbols of dreams, and different types of dreams, including famous dreams, from the perspective of the cultural and collective treasure house of Film, Art and Literature. Film clips and art images will be shown to illustrate the above.

Rupert Tower is a psychologist and Jungian Analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology. Previously he worked in the Arts and as an Applied Social Psychologist and Director of an international qualitative research consultancy exploring consumer motivations towards brands and advertising. He has published articles on Social Psychology, Market Research and Jung’s concept of the Shadow in organizations. He is in private practice in Hampstead and teaches across several Jungian organisations.

He has co-edited a book on the Shadow with his friend and colleague from the SAP, Christopher Perry. It is entitled “Jung’s Shadow Concept: The Hidden Light and Darkness within Ourselves, which will be published by Routledge on May 8^th 2023.

December 9^th – The Alchemy of Dreams – Marilyn A F Mathew 

In this seminar, we will explore the various alchemical themes and symbols that occur in dreams. Archetypal processes, contexts, characters, colours, patterns, topography, direction, and shapes, for example, can offer insight into deep layers of the psyche. This can help us amplify the current position of ego’ with Self and also track the development of themes of individuation through dream series.

Marilyn A. F. Mathew is a Training Analyst for the British Jungian Analytic Association (BJAA/bpf). As well as working in private practice with adults online, she supervises and has a special interest in the relationship of the psyche with soma, very early relationships and non-verbal communication.

January 20th- The Transcendent Function – Judy Cowell

The Transcendent Function refers to our capacity to bridge the gulf between consciousness and the unconscious. Jung wrote that “It is a natural process, a manifestation of the energy that springs from the tension of opposites and consists in a series of fantasy-occurrences which appear spontaneously in dreams and visions.” (CW 7, para 121). Drawing from Jung’s experience of this process, which he documents in Liber Novus, I shall explore how dreaming and symbols evidence the extraordinary creativity of the human psyche. In the talk, I shall illustrate the process of engaging our conscious selves with the unknown, in order to evaluate experiences of being connected to inner sources of wisdom that guide our personal development.

Judy Cowell is a Senior Member of the BJAA and a Member of the SAP. She has a private practice in Cambridge and teaches on the BJAA Analytic Training. She has a degree in Fine Art and also practised meditation and studied Buddhism. Her first clinical qualification was as an Integrative Body Psychotherapist.

February 24^th – Nightmares – Ruth Calland 

Do you ride the nightmare, or does it ride you? We will distinguish nightmares from night terrors, and think about recent developments in the application of Steven Porges’ polyvagal theory (about fight/flight/freeze responses) to our understanding of the function of nightmares and the appearance of the archetypal.

We will identify the common features of nightmares as expressions of the alchemical nigredo and how the individual can attempt to work with nightmares in waking life. We will look at both the personal soul aspect and the nightmare’s potential to express aspects of collective or global trauma.

Ruth Calland is a Jungian analyst and supervisor working with adults and couples. She has an interest in the outsider, and the intersection between neurodiversity, queerness and creativity. She is also a professional artist and member of the group Contemporary British Painting.  

March 16^th – Dream Series – Julian Masters 

Jung wrote, ‘I attach little importance to the interpretation of single dreams’. In this seminar, we will explore the dream within the context of a series where it becomes possible to see the dynamism of the individuation process at work over time. We will examine a few specific examples to show the extraordinary creativity of these unconscious processes.

Julian Masters is a member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation (bpf)and the International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP). He works as a Jungian psychotherapist in private practice in Oxford. He teaches BPF’s MSc course ‘Psychodynamics of Human Development’ and its introductory course ‘Psychotherapy Today’. Julian is also a painter, musician, and composer.

Seminar Series Leader – Jane Desborough is a Jungian Analyst with the British Jungian Analytic Association (BJAA/bpf). As well as working in private practice in South-East London, she works in the NHS in individual therapy, parent-infant therapy, and group work in inpatient settings. She is also an Infant Observation seminar leader for the bpf. Jane has a particular interest in dreams, early relational trauma, and non-verbal communication.

This course will be conducted online, via Zoom.

Register for October 2023

Once announced, kindly download the application form and, once completed, send it to Sandra Pereira at sandrap@bpf-psychotherapy.org.uk