4.
Dreamwork
Our conscious minds are aware of many different aspects of ourselves, but they are not aware of everything. In most of my work with clients, we will focus on thoughts, emotions, and patterns of behavior. There are times, though, when this approach might not be enough. You may feel troubled by something that you can't quite put your finger on, let alone put into words. You might feel a sense that something deep in yourself or in your past is just "off." It's at times like these when dreams can be an incredible tool for exploring the unconscious parts of your mind.
Dreams contain a vast amount of information, and there are many different (and potentially valid) ways to interact with and interpret the material of our dreams. Freudian psychoanalysts often focus on issues in psychosexual development (think Oedipal/Electra complexes, etc.). Jungian analysts will tend to think in terms of archetypes and integrating hidden or suppressed aspects of our unconscious selves. Although I can see the benefit of these viewpoints, I tend to see dreams as being more like calls for attention, awareness, and especially compassion, sent from our unconscious minds to our more conscious, day-to-day selves.
Dreams have their own language, rich in imagery and symbols, and that language is often very different from the way we speak in everyday life. Dream language is also very personal, and therefore any sort of dream "dictionary" or "encyclopedia" will leave a lot to be desired. When working on dreams in one of our sessions, it might feel like three people in a room trying to decode a message. The message has been sent by your unconscious mind in one language. You speak a related, but not identical language, and I speak another related, but not identical language. Together, we can try to decode this message as it relates to your life, your personal history, and your path going forward.