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ABSTRACT

Appreciating Dreams: The Montague Ullman Group Approach

Wendy Pannier 

1. Type of Presentation:
Workshop: 2-3 hours requested
The workshop is open to an unlimited number of people. However, only about 10-12 can participate in the actually group process with others involved as observers.

2. Title of Presentation:
Appreciating Dreams:
The Montague Ullman Group Approach

3. Biographical Description:
Wendy Pannier has worked with Dr. Montague Ullman since the early 1980s. She publishes a quarterly newsletter, Dream Appreciation, with him which is based on his group process. She has spoken about dreams and led dream groups for diverse audiences, including staff at a Veterans Hospital, cancer survivors at Wellness Communities, and members of the Swedish Dream Group Forum at workshops in Sweden and Bali.

4. Summary:
This workshop will explain Dr. Montague Ullman's dynamic four-step group approach, after which the group will work on a participant's dream using the process. Safety of the dreamer is a primary tenet of the process, and the dreamer remains in control at all times. This approach helps people tap the potential of their dreams -- and also shows how dreams connect us, one to another.

5. Learning Objectives:
· How to protect the safety of the dreamer in a group setting
· How to enhance the discovery process for the dreamer in a non-threatening way
· How everyone in a group can benefit from working on another person's dream
Evaluation Questions:
· What is the metaphorical significance of the visual image?
· How can you best put questions to the dreamer to help uncover clues about the temporal significance of the dream (why the dream occurred that night)?
· What can you take away from this group approach which can be useful in working on a one-to-one basis with a client?

Facilitator’s role:

1.      To maintain the safety of the dreams (The Safety Factor)

·         Dreamer controls the process

·         Dreamer’s privacy is not to be invaded

·         Leading questions are to be avoided

·         Dreamer determines the level of sharing he or she feels comfortable with

·         The dreamer can terminate the process at any point.

2.      To lead the group through the various stages designed to help the dreamer make discoveries difficult to make on his or her own (The Discovery Factor)

3.      To regulate the time as to leave sufficient time for the dreamer to respond and for the dialog to ensue.

Stage I

The leader asks:  “Who has a dream he or she would like to share with the group?

Addressed to:

Dreamer            Please tell your dream slowly, so we may have time to write it down.

Limit your telling to the manifest content of the dream and include any feelings experienced during the dream.

Group              (after dream)  Does the group have any questions regarding the                                     clarification of the dream?  For example:

1.      Are the characters real people?

2.      If so, what is their relationship to the dreamer? (no details)

3.      Were there any further feelings in the dream?

4.      Any colors in the dream?

5.      Dreamers age in the dream?

Stage II

IIA.            Addressed to:

Dreamer            You might like to sit back and take note of any responses that have                            meaning for you as we make the dream our own.

Group              We will talk about the dream as if it were our own, sharing with each other feelings and moods the imagery evokes in us.  These are our projections and in making them please avoid eye contact with the dreamer.

IIB.      Group              We will now consider each dream element in its potential metaphorical significance to some actual situation in our lives or to any imagined life situation.  We can continue to express further feelings should they arise. Please remember that everything we say is our own projection!

Stage III

IIIA.            Addressed to:

            Dreamer         We will now give the dream back to you and invite you to respond in any                           way that you wish.  You will not be interrupted.  Take all the time you need and let us know when you are finished.

IIIB.            Dreamer            Consider any questions as instruments for you to use in exploring your                                         own psyche.  These are not questions demanding an answer.  You are free to respond or not as you see fit. 

IIIB1.   Group              Our initial questions are to help the dreamer explore the recent emotional context that shaped the dream.  For example, any feeling residues to recent experiences that stayed with the dreamer the night of the dream.

IIIB2.            Dreamer         Would you like us now to play back your dream scene by scene to see if                                       you can make any further associations?

            Group              Who would like to read back the first scene? 

                                    The scene is initially read back in full giving the dreamer a chance to respond.  If there are still elements in a scene the dreamer has not yet addressed the dreamer is helped to focus on those specific elements and the question of their appearance in the dream at this time in the dreamer’s life.  This procedure will be continued until the entire dream has been read back.

IIIB3.            Dreamer         Would you like to see if the group has any orchestrating projections to                                     offer you in an effort to help you make further connections between the content of the dream and all you shared?

Stage IV

            Addressed to:

            Dreamer         If you have any further ideas or insights concerning the dream or the work the group did with it, you are free to share them with us at this time.