Acute Stress Disorder and Dream Psychotherapy©

Learning Objectives: 

1. Introduction into Acute Stress Disorder and Dream Psychotherapy© (10 minutes) 

  1. Dream Psychotherapy© mission statement 

  2. Define Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) 

  3. Differentiate Brief Psychotic Disorder and PTSD 

2. Dream Psychotherapy©: How to work with the traumatic event and dream/nightmare in the first session (15 minutes) 

  1. Briefly explain the psychosomatic witness 

  2. Discuss psychoeducation for clinicians to provide to their patients for aftercare

  3. Dream Psychotherapy© assessment questionnaire 

3. Dream Psychotherapy©: Sessions in weeks 2-4 (15 minutes)

  1. Discuss ways for the patient to document dreams in between sessions 

  2. Emphasize the importance of addressing nightmares as priority

  3. Review the concept of re-scripting the nightmare for practice before sleep

  4. Provide assessment tools for possible referrals in conjunction with psychotherapy to aid trauma recovery

4. Social impacts of trauma (10 minutes)

  1. Briefly define the nature of trauma response in social settings: Flight, fight, fawn and freeze 

  2. Overview of instructions for building structure to support recovery and increase deep sleep 

  3. Emphasize the importance of the patient's healthy assertion in session and consensual exchanges 

5. Patient progress (10 minutes)

  1. Provide assessment tools for measuring patient progress 

    1. "Weekly Progress Report" completed before each session 

      1. Worst and best night of sleep 

      2. Nightmare reporting with description and physiological symptoms 

      3. Scale of 1-5 for each night of sleep 

If interested in learning how to implement Dream Psychotherapy©, please complete the form below: