Dreamwork in Therapeutic Practices

Dreams and dream interpretation have been used for both guidance and healing by cultures across the world and throughout time. In modern depth psychologies, dreams and their symbol-rich metaphoric imagery are held as a form of communication from the psyche, reflecting to the dreamer aspects of their inner and outer life, and offering new possibilities for insight and growth.   

Join CIIS Associate Professor in East-West Psychology, Helge Osterhold, for a unique workshop exploring therapeutic approaches to dreamwork. Drawing from depth, transpersonal psychology, and Gestalt psychotherapy, Dr. Osterhold provides participants with a foundation of traditional and contemporary views about dreams and dreaming. Over the course of the weekend, participants explore key ideas and therapeutic approaches to dreamwork and become familiar with interpretive and non-interpretive methods, while situating the course within cultural and historic perspectives.  

This experiential workshop includes lecture, discussion, as well as dyadic and small group practices to facilitate the unfolding and understanding of dreams. The experiential aspect of this course is designed for a meaningful and safe exploration of the potential for wisdom and healing in dreams. All dreams that are shared in class are held with respect, appreciation, and confidentiality in a supportive environment. 

Through personal dream journals and activities, participants are exposed to a variety of ways of understanding and exploring dreams, gain or refine skills in working with dreams, and learn to apply tools in their personal lives as well as in their counseling practices. 
 
This workshop is ideal for clinicians and others working in therapeutic practices with clients. The teachings are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public. Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients.


Dr. Helge Osterhold is a psychotherapist and integrative educator. Teaching graduate level psychology courses since 2006, he joined the East West Psychology (EWP) department as a core faculty member in 2017 and offers courses in Jungian Psychology, Archetypal Psychology, Dreamwork, Spiritual Counseling, and the Psychology of Death and Dying. His theoretical and clinical orientation includes transpersonal, depth and humanistic-existential psychologies with a special appreciation for systemic thinking, indigenous wisdom and multiculturalism.  

For 10 years, Dr. Osterhold served at the University of California San Francisco-in pediatric palliative care and as an educator on mindful caregiving and clinician resiliency at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and UCSF School of Medicine.  

Originally from Germany, Dr. Osterhold received a BA in Human Relations, a MA in Integral Counseling Psychology, a PhD in East West Psychology, and is licensed as a psychotherapist in California. Dr. Osterhold maintains a private psychotherapy practice with a focus on life transitions. He is the author of The Body’s Code – Synchronicity and Meaning in Illness and Injury. Through a depth psychological lens, his book explores how viewing serious health crisis as synchronistic events can provide an understanding as to how such suffering may meaningfully impact and transform psychological, spiritual, relational and professional-creative levels of a person’s life. 

Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to: 

1. Utilize means to remember and collect dreams.
2. Apply dream contents as helpful reflections and inner guidance.
3. Demonstrate sharing of dreams in community in a respectful and non-invasive way. 
4. Describe multiple layers of meaning in dream interpretation. 
5. Create a working definition of depth psychological understanding of the psyche.
6. Apply interpretive dream work techniques.
7. List & explain non-interpretive dream work techniques.
8. Describe and analyze a relation to the unconscious level of the psyche.

Information on Continuing Education Credit for Health Professionals 

10 CEUs are available for an additional fee of $60. After you register for the workshop, your confirmation email from Eventbrite will contain a link to the site where you can purchase the CEUs from our co-sponsor, Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA). CEUs may be purchased at any time before the workshop, but only those who have purchased in advance will receive credits. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue CEUs retroactively. 

• CEUs for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CEUs for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.
• LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.
• SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes.
• For questions about completing the CE evaluation materials for this course, as well as receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact CIIS Public Programs at publicprograms@ciis.edu. For other questions about CEUs, visit www.spiritualcompetency.com or contact Spiritual Competency Academy at info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.