Incorporating the Co-Creative Paradigm into Your Dreamwork Practice: A Brief Intervention

1. Incorporating the Co-Creative Paradigm into Your DreamworkPractice: A Brief Intervention Presentation at the Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Anaheim, California, June, 2017 G. Scott Sparrow, EdD, LPC, LMFT Associate Professor, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Faculty, Atlantic University Founder, DreamStar Institute www.dreamanalysistraining.com gscotspar@gmail.com DreamStar Institute

2. Introduction The co-creative paradigm represents an altogether new way to view the construction and analysis of dreams. I have previously outlined an approach to incorporating this approach--the FiveStar Method--but the realistic constraints of counseling practice often require a more flexible and targeted intervention, which I will demonstrate in this workshop.

3. Barbara’s Dream I am returning home from being away for a long time, and I go to a picnic where I expect to see my family. No one seems to notice me, and when I look for food, I see that it has all been eaten: There is a platter on a picnic table with the bones of a large fish on it. For some reason, I take the platter down to the edge of a nearby lake, and lay the platter in the water. I am surprised to see that the fish comes to life, shimmers with colors, then swims away.

4. Introduction Co-creative dream theory and analysis views dreaming as an interactive process between a responsive dreamer and an indeterminate dream represents a relative new approach to dreams. derives in part from the recent focus on lucid dreaming. can be traced, as well, to Ernest Rossi’s book, Dreams and the Growth of Personality (1972), asserted that reflective awareness can be observed in virtually every dream. For the first time in history, dream are viewed as a process of development through the interaction between dreamer and dream content.

5. Introduction Various empirical studies lend support to the presence of reflective awareness and volition in ordinary dreams, most notably the work of Kahan and LaBerge, and Kosmova and her associates. Significantly, Kahan credits Rossi for the foundations of her own thinking, as I do. Kahan, T.L. (2001). Consciousness in dreaming: A metacognitive approach. In K. Bulkeley (Ed.), Dreams: A reader on the religious, cultural, and psychological dimensions of dreaming (pp. 333-360). New York: Palgrave. Kahan, T. L., LaBerge, S. (1996). Cognition and metacognition in dreaming and waking: Comparison for first- and third-person ratings. Dreaming, 6, 235-239.- Kahan, T. L., and LaBerge, S. P. (2010) Dreaming and waking: Similarities and differences revisited. Consciousness and Cognition, 20(3):494-514. Kozmova, M. and Wolman, R. N. (2006). Self-awareness in dreaming. Dreaming, 16, 3, 196-214.

6. Introduction My own work in lucid dreaming and my training as a psychotherapist merged with Rossi’s seminal contribution to produce over the course of almost 40 years of work a structured, five-step approach to co-creative dream analysis that has recently been called the FiveStar Method.

7. Introduction Disclaimer: Co-creative dream work does not compete with established content-oriented methods but rather: Features a more encompassing approach that focuses principally on the dreamer’s awareness and responses as the more important aspect of the dream. Establishes a dynamic relational context through which the dreamer can more easily discern the meaning of a dream without significant—and possibly invasive— contributions from the dream worker(s). If you “get this” paradigm, it will transform your approach to dreams, embedding your imagery/content work within a more accurate view of the dream’s construction and purpose.

8. Introduction I have written peer-reviewed papers, and presented at IASD and other venues in attempts to orient practitioners to the benefits of the FSM and the co-creative paradigm. In my actual practice, the application of co-creative dream work often calls for a more abbreviated, less structured intervention that may adapt to the time constraints of the therapeutic hour, and focus on aspects of specific client-shared dreams that do not seem to require the application of a more structured and time-consuming method.

9. Introduction This morning, I will focus on applying the essential features of co-creative dream work, not only so you can adapt it to restrictive time frames, but also so you can incorporate it seamlessly into your own approach to content analysis. I’ve prepared a few resources for you that can be accessed on a dedicated page on my website: Other articles and papers can be found there, too.

10. The Origin of Dream Imagery The dream arises when the dream ego becomes aware of an emergent, or intrusive domain-level, generic issue. Ullman referred to it as “intrusive novelty.” The emergent issue awakens memories of specific experience in the dreamer’s history The dream image is a co-created metaphor that concretizes the domain level issue into a specific form to which the dreamer can relate.

11. The Origin of Dream Imagery The dreamer, forced to employ a sensory mode, has to build the abstraction out of concrete blocks in the form of visual sequences. The resulting metaphor can be viewed as an interface phenomenon where the biological system establishes the sensory medium as the vehicle for this expression and the psychological system furnishes the specific content. Ullman, M. (1969).“Dreaming as Metaphor in Motion,” Archives of General Psychiatry, 2.

12. Co-creative Dream Construction Relational Context: Often overlooked! Process or how the dreamer is responding/ relating to the content Metaphorical Imagery: Mutable Interface Between Dreamer and Emergent Content Content: Domain-level, abstract “agenda” for growth and individuation

13. Theory & Practice The co-creative paradigm is based on the idea that dreams: are not fixed from the outset, but are indeterminate. unfold through the interaction between the dream ego and the emergent dream content. represent a developmental, relational process, rather than a static message. While content analysis is important, the CCD views the imagery not as the content itself, but as the mutable interface between the dreamer and the content; thus any analysis must take into consideration the imagery changes that may occur alongside the dreamer’s responses.

14. Reciprocity is the Governing Principle “What does this symbol mean?” becomes “How did the imagery mirror the dreamer’s changing attitude and responses?” Given the complexity of viewing the imagery in a reciprocal exchange with the dream ego, we will focus on an abbreviated approach to CCD that repositions the analysis of the content to the end of the dreamwork process, where the dreamer can, with the assistance of the dreamworker(s) arrive some practical and immediately applicable understanding of the dream’s overall purpose—not by imputing meaning that is not clearly evident, but by clarifying the dream process and how it provokes the dreamer to a new, more adaptive level of response to a given domain-level life issue.

15. Theory & Practice By shifting the focus in dream analysis away from content to interactive relational process, a counselor can view the dream in such a way as to support the goals of contemporary therapy. By adopting this paradigm, he or she can: assist clients in discerning the dream ego’s responses to the dream content, and evaluate how these responses influence the overall experience and, by implication, parallel waking relationships.

16. Theory & Practice Let’s focus on two essential dimensions of the co-creative paradigm that you can weave into any dreamwork discussion: the process narrative, and the dreamer’s responses and commensurate imagery changes.

17. The Process Narrative The dreamer’s responses comprise the centerpiece of this paradigm, but the dreamer’s responses obviously occur sequentially over the course of the dream. If we look at each response by itself, we risk overlooking the way in which the responses fit together in a sequence, along a developmental continuum.

18. The Process Narrative The way that we establish the framework in which the responses fit together across the time span of the dream is through formulating a process narrative—or “theme” as Thurston and I originally termed it when we wrote about it in the mid-70s—which is a content-free description of the dynamic process from the beginning to the end of the dream.

19. The Process Narrative The process narrative eliminates all references to specific names, places, and objects in order to arrive at a generic description of the dream process. “Someone joins someone else in an attempt to get somewhere, runs into several obstacles along the way, and is able to circumvent all of them, eventually arriving at the destination alone.” “Some sees something that seems threatening, takes evasive action to avoid it, but remains afraid, so looks for a more secure solution without success.”

20. The Process Narrative By establishing the process narrative before examining the dreamer’s responses, we establish a framework, as well as a sense of movement or development, or the lack thereof. The process narrative serves to link isolated responses along the time continuum. Thus the process narrative keeps us from treating the dreamer’s responses apart from a dynamic, unfolding process that will reveal itself as either developmental, stagnant, or regressive.

21. The Process Narrative Also, by extracting a process narrative, and then by focusing on the dreamer’s responses, we can conduct effective dreamwork without making hit-or-miss, invasive speculations concerning what the dream imagery “means,” leaving all such speculation entirely in the hands of the dreamer/client.

22. The Process Narrative I think you will see that by subordinating imagery analysis to the analysis of dreamer-dream interactive process, and intentionally postponing a consideration of the metaphoric imagery, co-creative dreamwork effectively establishes the oft-overlooked context into which the imagery is embedded, and which, when illuminated, informs the dreamer as to its meaning, without undue effort on our part.

23. The Process Narrative Let’s look at a dream that was shared by a client of mine. The background is that he was breaking up with his partner of several years, or at least eliminating the financial entanglement that had caused him so much distress.

24. The Process Narrative I am leaving my old job that was so unpleasant. My boss, who was a boss from hell, has thrown a party for me, and everything is good. Then I realize that I have forgotten to mail out an invoice to a client. Bothered by that, I leave the party and go back to my office and search for the information I need to prepare the invoice. My boss comes into my office and asks me what I’m doing. I tell her that I have forgotten to send out an invoice. She seems puzzled and says, Don’t bother. But I can’t let it go, so I continue torummage through my desk looking for the information.

25. The Process Narrative We summarized the process narrative as, “Someone is approaching the completion of something, but then believes he’s left something undone, and feels he has to complete it before he can move on.”

26. The Process Narrative Once the content had been removed from the process narrative, he could see that the dream was depicting a chronic pattern that could easily reassert itself in his relationship with his partner. Then, we focused on his responses to the dream events. Instead of celebrating the end of something, he preferred to focus on unfulfilled responsibilities that even a previously harsh taskmaster did not expect of him.

27. The Dreamer’s Responses We cannot conclusively determine the desirability of a given response without asking the dreamer if it represents a new, creative responses, or an old chronic way of reacting to life. My client immediately realized that his reflexive decision to “take care” of an unfulfilled task depicted a chronic pattern of assuming too much responsibility for whatever wasn’t right. He immediately realized that he could easily regress into assuming responsibility for his partner, and what was left of their common property and interests instead of continuing his progress toward a less codependent, less entangled style of relating.

28. Chronic Adaptive Responses What we see in the dreamer’s reflexive behavior, I have termed a “chronic adaptive response,” and have published a paper on this topic that is available to you at my website. These responses are deeply held, repetitive relational patterns of two distinct types. On one hand, we express “reactive adaptive responses” out of a desire to prevent some form of earlier trauma or loss from happening again. Or, we may express unthinkingly what I have termed “compliant adaptive responses,” which are based on internalized cultural and family assumptions about what we need to do to win love and approval.

29. Chronic Adaptive Responses What kind of chronic response was the dreamer’s departure from the party and his preoccupation with his unfinished task? It would have been impossible to answer this question without the dreamer’s input. For instance, it’s possible his father was an alcoholic, and so my client grew up never trusting a peaceful moment, and thus chronically deprives himself of relief and celebration with a never-ending sense of duty. This would be a reactive adaptive response.

30. Chronic Adaptive Responses Or his parents could have been super-responsible, high achievers, who never took time for themselves, leaving their son thinking that he had to be constantly tackling the hard tasks in life without taking breaks. In this case, the dreamer’s sense of responsibility could be seen as a compliant adaptive response; that is performed unthinkingly due to his parents’ strong modeling.

31. Chronic Adaptive Responses Given the way that the dreamer’s response can be a product of quite different early experiences, it is thus necessary for us to ask the dreamer, first of all, “Is this chronic behavior?” And then we need to ask the dreamer, “Does this relational pattern derive from a desire to prevent something bad from happening again, or from a impulse to emulate a cultural or family ideal?”

32. Chronic Adaptive Responses All of this conversation revolves around process, not content. Consequently, the dream worker can engage the dreamer directly, and make observations and ask questions without fear of making invasive comments, as long as the dream worker permits the dreamer to determine if his or her responses chronic or a creative departure from habit, whether the response is reactive or compliant in nature.

33. Reciprocal Imagery Changes In the analysis of dreamer responses, it’s also important to examine how the dreamer’s responses impact dream imagery, if at all. In this dream, the old boss doesn’t really reflect the dreamer’s concerns, and even persists in advising the dreamer to let go, and to move on. She does not regress into the old tyrant of a boss that he remembers. What this indicates to me, when I observe this “durability” of the imagery, that the change the dreamer seeks to maintain in his life—freedom from excessive responsibility and codependency—is robust.

34. Reciprocal Imagery Changes This, of course, is good news and bad news. Good news because the “door is open,” and the authority system within him invites him to move on, but bad news in that he still clings to his old ways of assuming too much responsibility, perhaps on an emotional level rather than as a matter of principle.

35. “Pushed Aside” Let’s look at another dream together—one that bears some similarities to the first dream—and then have an open discussion on extracting the process narrative, identifying the dreamer’s responses, assessing whether the responses were creative or habitual, whether any chronic responses can be seen as reactive or compliant, and what changes, if any, that can be observed in the dream imagery as a consequences of the dreamer’s responses.

36. “Pushed Aside” The dreamer, a 24-year-old woman, told me this dream. In order to allow you to answer the questions without the dreamer present, let me say that the client suffered from severe social anxiety, and was especially afraid of being found deficient in front of other peoples, such as in a classroom where she might be called on to provide an answer to a question.

37. “Pushed Aside” I am in church leading the congregation in singing, as I normally do. The minister calls for a song that I don't have the music for, so I hurry to the back of the church and try to locate it. I turn and look to the front of the church and see that the previous song leader—a woman of my age who always seemed a bit full of herself—has taken over my position at the podium. I go back to front of the church and confront her in front of everyone. I say, “This is no longer your job. I am the song leader now.” Without saying a word, the woman leaves the podium and sits down with the congregation. I becomes self-conscious because I know that everyone has overheard me. But I resume my position at the podium.

38. Formulating the Process Narrative Let’s formulate the process narrative. Who would like to give it a shot? Remember, use words like someone, something, somewhere, without any mention of specific images (i.e. podium, music, back of church, etc.) Someone is…

39. Identifying the Dreamer’s Responses Now that we’ve arrived at a suitable process narrative, let’s clarify where the dreamer responded or reacted over the course of the dream…

40. Identifying and Troubleshooting the Dreamer’s Responses So her first response, which is implicit in the opening context, is her willingness to lead the congregation. She says it’s what she normally does, but still she’s showing up, isn’t she? And then, thinking that she does not have what she needs, she makes an effort to obtain it. Then, when she feels supplanted by the other woman, she responds firmly and directly to assert her role. Then she resumes her position, even though she becomes self-conscious after asserting herself.

41. Identifying and Troubleshooting the Dreamer’s Responses Notice how the delineation of the dreamer’s responses builds on the framework of the process narrative, and punctuates it with a focus on the pivotal dreamer responses. Now we have what we need! In the absence of the dreamer, we can still ask, “Which responses seem habitual? Which responses seem creative, or bold? And, if the dreamer exhibited chronic adaptive responses, what kind of chronic responses were evident?

42. Drawing Parallels With Waking Concerns If the dreamer were present, we would naturally discuss how the assertiveness exhibited in the dream related to her current situations in life. That is, are there places where she is allowing herself to be pushed aside? Places where she is standing up for herself? And finally, what is the ideal, or preferred action that the dreamer wishes to enact in her life, and where? All of this can be done without analyzing the dream content! And it leads naturally to an understanding of how the dream process parallels waking life! In the final discussion, the dreamer will naturally relate the dream to various real-life contexts, and develop strategies for responding creatively to them.

43. Incorporating the Co-Creative Paradigm into Your DreamworkPractice: A Brief Intervention Presentation at the Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Anaheim, California, June, 2017 G. Scott Sparrow, EdD, LPC, LMFT Associate Professor, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Faculty, Atlantic University Founder, DreamStar Institute www.dreamanalysistraining.com gscotspar@gmail.com Thank you! DreamStar Institute