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 Developing Your Own Dreamwork Ethics

Richard Catlett Wilkerson


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  Wilkerson, Richard Catlett (2001 Nov). Developing Your Own Dreamwork Ethics.  Electric Dreams 8(11). Retrieved Dec 28. 2001 from Electric Dreams on the World Wide Web: http://www.dreamgate.com/electric-dreams





The question of ethical dreamwork is about the acceptable behavior related to values. However, what is valued will differ from individual to individual and situation to situation. Thus the ideas of transparency and disclosure have become important in relation with ethical standards and behavior. These ideas are even more important in an online global community where people from vastly different value systems may be interacting.


Basically, the productive application of disclosure and transparency mean that your group is up-front about what they expect from one another and from other groups and individuals. Can the group tell others outside the group what they heard during a group discussion, or are some or all of the conversations confidential and only shared within the group?


Whether offline or online, dream sharing group boundaries of behavior are not standardized and especially open to a wide variance of unspoken expectations. Dreamwork flows between the boundaries of therapy, spirituality, the occult, personal growth, the arts and grassroots support groups. Each of these large fields of behavior have their own sub-sets of groups, each with their own values, goals and expectations. Adding to this the multicultural differences brought about by global communications multiplies the variance an makes the task of developing clear and accessible ethical guidelines ever more urgent.


What I would like to recommend here is that you as an individual develop your own ethical statement, and then use this when you join a group as a measure to decide if the group is going to fit for you. If you would like help in developing this personal statement, you are in luck, as many people in the Association for the Study of Dreams have been working on this process for sometime.

The Association for the Study of Dreams (ASD) is a non-profit, international, multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the pure and applied investigation of dreams and dreaming. Their purposes are to promote an awareness and appreciation of dreams in both professional and public arenas; to encourage research into the nature, function, and significance of dreaming; to advance the application of the study of dreams; and to provide a forum for the eclectic and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and information.
In 1997 the ASD Ethics Committee, Chaired by Carol Warner, developed a dreamwork ethics statement that could be used as a guide for weighing and evaluating the ethics of a dream sharing venue or group. http://www.asdreams.org/ethics.htm

In 2000, Ed Kellogg provided a template which could be used for other groups to develop similar ethical statements.
http://www.asdreams.org/dreamwork_ethics_template.htm
"We (or name of organization/website) celebrate the many benefits of dreamwork, yet recognizes that there are potential risks. We agree with the ethical position taken by the Association for the Study of Dreams (link to ASDs ethical statement page), in that we support an approach to dreamwork and dream sharing that respects the dreamer's dignity and integrity, and which recognizes the dreamer as the decision-maker regarding the significance of the dream. Systems of dreamwork that assign authority or knowledge of the dream's meanings to someone other than the dreamer can be misleading, incorrect, and harmful. Ethical dreamwork helps the dreamer work with his/her own dream images, feelings, and associations, and guides the dreamer to more fully experience, appreciate, and understand the dream.


Every dream may have multiple meanings, and different techniques may be reasonably employed to touch these multiple layers of significance. A dreamer's decision to share or discontinue sharing a dream should always be respected and honored. The dreamer should be forewarned that unexpected issues or emotions may arise in the course of the dreamwork. Information and mutual agreement about the degree of privacy and confidentiality are essential ingredients in creating a safe atmosphere for dream sharing.
Dreamwork outside a clinical setting is not a substitute for psychotherapy, or other professional treatment, and should not be used as such.


We recognize and respect that there are many valid and time-honored dreamwork traditions. We invite and welcome the participation of dreamers from all cultures. There are social, cultural, and transpersonal aspects to dream experience. In this statement we do not mean to imply that the only valid approach to dreamwork focuses on the dreamer's personal life. Our purpose is to honor and respect the person of the dreamer as well as the dream itself, regardless of how the relationship between the two may be understood."
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The Electric Dreams used this template to create their own statement below.


Note that the Electric Dreams community has several dream sharing venues, some of which follow this guide and other that don't. The DreamWheel, for example, follows the guides very closely as it is an intimate sharing in a confidential setting among peers. However, the Electric Dreams e-zine is a free speech forum for dreams and dreamers, and thereby allows a wider range of response that is less moderated and guided by the ethics statement.

"Electric Dreams DreamWheel Dreamwork Ethics Statement"
The Electric Dreams community celebrates the many benefits of dreamwork, yet recognizes that there are potential risks. We agree with the ethical position taken by the Association for the Study of Dreams (http://www.asdream.org), in that we support an approach to dreamwork and dream sharing that respects the dreamer's dignity and integrity, and which recognizes the dreamer as the decision-maker regarding the significance of the dream. Systems of dreamwork that assign authority or knowledge of the dream's meanings to someone other than the dreamer can be misleading, incorrect, and harmful. Ethical dreamwork helps the dreamer work with his/her own dream images, feelings, and associations, and guides the dreamer to more fully experience, appreciate, and understand the dream.


Every dream may have multiple meanings, and different techniques may be reasonably employed to touch these multiple layers of significance. A dreamer's decision to share or discontinue sharing a dream should always be respected and honored. The dreamer should be forewarned that unexpected issues or emotions may arise in the course of the dreamwork. Information and mutual agreement about the degree of privacy and confidentiality are essential ingredients in creating a safe atmosphere for dream sharing.
Dreamwork outside a clinical setting is not a substitute for psychotherapy, or other professional treatment, and should not be used as such.


We recognize and respect that there are many valid and time-honored dreamwork traditions. We invite and welcome the participation of dreamers from all cultures. There are social, cultural, and transpersonal aspects to dream experience. In this statement we do not mean to imply that the only valid approach to dreamwork focuses on the dreamer's personal life. Our purpose is to honor and respect the person of the dreamer as well as the dream itself, regardless of how the relationship between the two may be understood.


The Electric Dreams Community, March 2000