Danna Blesser, M.A., LMFT
T0657 - OR
MFC 44297 - CA

www.therapy-portland.net
NW Counseling Center
820 NW 21st Avenue, Suite B
Portland, OR 97209 (map)
503.388.2093
danna.blesser@comcast.net
Dreams remain one of central mysteries of our imagination and our humanity and dreamtending has become a diverse practice that each therapist approaches through their unique perspective on the psyche. My perspective, based upon depth psychology, views dreams as rich communications from the imagination unburdened by social convention and propriety. Dreams are rich visual and linguistic products that are offered to our conscious mind to enrich our daily lives and nourish our imagination.
     
Tending to, listening to, and engaging our dreaming self can help deepen our understanding of our awake self and, ultimately, expand our conception of Self. Dreams may reveal hidden dynamics in our relationships, highlight hopes and fears, stimulate creativity, and offer new and challenging perspectives upon our most deeply held beliefs. It has been my experience that working with dreams in a therapeutic process enhances the work that is done in other modalities. Additionally, because of the powerful, universal images often embedded in dreams, they can evoke a heightened awareness of the larger cultural and global community in which we live.

I have had a life-long interest in dreaming and I have worked intensively to understand the language of dreams and the significance of dreams to the therapeutic process. I believe that every dreamer develops their own dream vocabulary and, together, we work to translate the images and narratives to release both the meanings and the feelings knotted up in them. Then we prepare an appropriate ritual in order to engage, or act upon, the dream in our waking life. This approach to dreams can help heal traumas, address unresolved relationships, prepare for major life-transitions, reveal creative solutions, enrich the imagination, and help us to make healthy choices and decisions.