Dreams have long been understood as a pathway into aspects of human experience that may not be fully available to conscious awareness. This program introduces participants to a Jungian approach to dreams, with particular attention to symbolism, archetypes, the personal and collective unconscious, the Shadow, and Jung’s concept of individuation—the movement toward greater psychological integration and wholeness. In Jungian theory, dreams are not viewed simply as random mental events but as potentially meaningful expressions of the total psychological situation of the dreamer. Contemporary research using Structural Dream Analysis (SDA) has found recurring patterns in dream narratives that correspond with psychological difficulties and has demonstrated that changes in dream patterns can parallel therapeutic change, offering empirical support for important aspects of Jung’s theory of dreaming (Roesler, 2020).

The program will introduce participants to practical methods of dream exploration, including identifying significant images, making personal associations, attending to emotional responses, connecting dream imagery to inner dynamics, and considering what previously unrecognized aspects of the self may be represented in the dream. These methods reflect the approach already developed in the workshop, in which participants are encouraged to regard dream figures as psychologically meaningful, develop associations to them, and explore what those figures might have to teach them. The second part of the program uses Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as an extended illustration of dream, archetype, individuation, and psychological transformation. Participants will consider Scrooge’s encounters with Marley and the three Spirits as a dreamlike symbolic journey in which previously excluded memories, emotions, relationships, fears, and possibilities gradually enter awareness. The presentation conceptualizes the Ghost of Christmas Past in relation to memory and the personal unconscious, the Ghost of Christmas Present in relation to shared human experience and archetypal themes, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in relation to fear, the Shadow, mortality, and transformative potential. This framework is consistent with Roesler’s (2025) discussion of transformation as a central concern of analytical psychology and Jung’s attempt to describe a broader transformational process that can occur through engagement between conscious and unconscious experience. Scrooge’s journey will also be considered in light of LaMothe’s (2023) psychoanalytic and pastoral analysis of A Christmas Carol, which identifies grief, psychological defenses, unconscious motivations, and transformational processes as important dimensions of Scrooge’s character and eventual change. By the conclusion of the program, participants will be able to identify several central Jungian concepts used in dream work; describe the role of symbols, archetypes, Shadow material, and individuation in psychological transformation; and apply a basic process of association and symbolic exploration to their own dreams. Participants will also learn to distinguish between imposing a fixed interpretation on a dream and approaching dream material with curiosity about the dreamer’s own associations and emotional responses. Using Scrooge’s journey as a case example, participants will identify how encounters with previously disowned aspects of experience can contribute to increased self-awareness, psychological integration, compassion, and behavioral change. The final transformation of Scrooge illustrates this movement particularly well: his confrontation with his own death represents the symbolic ending of his former way of being, followed by a “rebirth” expressed through concrete changes in his relationships and behavior.

The program therefore combines Jungian analytical theory, Structural Dream Analysis, dream-association techniques, and literary case application to provide participants with both a conceptual understanding of dreams and practical tools for engaging their own dream lives.

Presented by Melody Bacon, PhD

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This program, when attended in its entirety, offers 1.5 CEs for Psychologists, 1.5 IL CEUs for Counselors and Social Workers, 1.5 BBS California CEUs for LPCCs, LPSWs, and LMFTs, or 1.5 NBCC Clock Hours.

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