Dreamwork as Mirror within the Therapeutic Field

What if dreams don’t just belong to us—but move through us?

In this way, we explore dreams not as puzzles to decode, but as mirrors reflecting deeper layers of our presence in the therapeutic field. Whether we’re working with a client’s dream, our own, or a symbolic image that arises between us, dreamwork becomes a portal into the unconscious terrain we co-inhabit with our clients.

Through contemplative reflection therapists can engage with dreams as a form of inner supervision. What symbols are asking to be witnessed? What messages are waiting just beyond the threshold of interpretation?

️ Visual Cue: Dream as Portal ➡️➡️➡️

You may wish to use this image as a visual meditation before writing.
Let the open window invite something through.

✍️ Writing Prompts for Exploration

The Client’s Dream as Mirror
Bring to mind a client who shared a dream (or an image, metaphor, or fantasy) with you recently—or in the past.

Instead of interpreting the dream for the client, reflect on what the dream mirrored for you as the therapist.
What stirred emotionally, somatically, or symbolically in response?
Was the dream asking you to see something differently?
Your Own Dream at the Threshold
Recall a recent dream of your own—either a nighttime dream or a waking image that lingered.

In what way might this dream be connected to your current work with a client, a pattern you’re seeing, or a therapeutic dynamic that feels unresolved?
What message, archetype, or invitation might this dream be offering to your role as therapist?
The Dream Between Us
Sometimes it’s not their dream or our dream—but something in-between. A dream-like moment in session. A strange image that arose during silence. A flash of symbol or intuition that felt like it didn’t belong to either person—but came through the field.

Write about an instance when something numinous, surreal, or symbolic emerged between you and a client.
What do you think it wanted you to witness?

Dream Symbols: A Quick Reference for Therapists

These are not fixed meanings, but common archetypal resonances to use as a mirror—not a map.

House – The psyche or self; different rooms = different aspects of the inner world
Water – Emotions, the unconscious, depth. Calm vs. turbulent waters carry meaning
Windows/Doors – Thresholds, opportunities, ways of seeing or transitions
Vehicles – Direction in life; agency or lack thereof
Animals – Instincts, archetypal messengers; consider species and behavior
Child – Vulnerability, new beginnings, inner child, potential
Shadow Figure – Unacknowledged parts of self or others; invitations to integrate
Flight/Falling – Release, freedom, fear of losing control, transformation
Being Chased – Avoidance of something within; unprocessed anxiety or desire
Fire – Transformation, destruction, passion, purification
Death – Symbolic endings, transitions, identity shifts—not always literal
Light – Illumination, insight, spiritual presence
Mirror – Self-perception, reflection, inner truth