So my dream is to become a qualified Counsellor. I am five weeks in to a Level 2 Counselling Concepts course at my local college and I am loving it! It is as if someone has flicked a switch in my brain and I now have an overwhelming desire to learn.
Over the past few weeks we have looked at basic counselling skills, the ethical framework, the Person-Centred approach and REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy). I honestly find it so fascinating that I have found it hard to resist a peek at my college library books of an evening. Last night, I read some further details on REBT (just in case we get tested on it at college this week!) and then I found myself trying to be clever and reading up about the Psychodynamic approach - which we haven't looked at yet.
I finally put the book down when I could no longer keep my eyes open, and I settled myself down in preparation for a long nights sleep - or so I hoped. Try as I might, I could not get the new information I had learned out of my head! My mind lurched from one counselling theory to another and continued throughout my dreams.
I know very well that I had several short dreams during the course of the night about being a counsellor and desperately trying to apply the correct counselling approach to each of my imaginary clients. I couldn't remember many details on waking, but I certainly remember feeling quite stressed during my dreams.
The last dream of the night was very bizarre and I do remember quite a few of the details. It all started when I boarded a brand new passenger aircraft with my Mum, Dad and son. However, my son was not my son in the dream, but my little brother - analyse that! I remember telling my son/brother that the aircraft was a brand new design and had a clear perspex ceiling. At night we would be able to look up at the stars above us and it would be so exciting!
Once seated on the aircraft it became apparent that we were on our way to Sydney, Australia. We fastened our seatbelts and began to taxi down the runway. Just as we were nearing the end of the runway my Dad stood up and said he needed to get off the plane to check that he had packed his suitcase properly! Mum said she thought she ought to go with him, and before I knew it I was following them into the airport terminal and watching my Dad rifling through his suitcase. I have NO idea how we got off the already moving aeroplane.
Mum and I watched Dad as he counted all the contents of his suitcase and when they added up to an odd number he became distressed and said that the amount of items in his case needed to be even. At this point I asked my Dad if he had OCD and then I got cross with him for making us miss our flight!
When I awoke I was quite anxious as the dream had felt quite real. I felt so bad for being cross with my Dad - after all it wasn't his fault that we had all got off the plane, it was our choice. I was also confused - to my knowledge my Dad doesn't suffer from OCD and his behaviour in the dream was quite out of character.
Thinking about the dream is really difficult for me as I know it must have some underlying meanings but at this stage in my studies I have no clue what they could be. Having looked at the BACP website (http://www.bacp.co.uk/seeking_therapist/theoretical_approaches.php ) I'm thinking that either Psychoanalysis or Gestalt Therapy may hold the answers. Do you know which approach is best suited to dream analysis?
I shall re-visit this post when I am further in to my course to see if I can provide an explanation for my rather weird dream. Until then, sleep tight and don't have nightmares!
