What’s the deal with our dreams?

How often do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, from a crazy dream, wondering how you were even able to imagine it? Dreams, according to Freud, aren't mere froth. They're messages, beckoning us to pay attention to the deeper recesses of our minds. And here's the kicker: dreams don't bother with trivial matters. If it's in your dream, it's significant. 

In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Neely, LCSW-R, a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City with over 20 years of experience in the field. 

Jennifer assists adults who are seeking relief from anxiety and depression. She offers psychotherapy to successful professionals who are hoping to find more enjoyment in their work and home lives. She helps people in recovery from addictions to address underlying their root causes. She sees those who are in loving yet problematic relationships with former addicts. She has specialized training in and experience working with people who have endured trauma. Jennifer holds a master’s degree from New York University’s School of Social Work. She is a member, instructor, and training analyst at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP). She enjoys supervising other clinicians. She has taught dream interpretation at NPAP, the Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis, and Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute. She believes psychotherapy need not be humorless nor interminable. 

Jennifer highlights how dreams are the mind's intricate mechanism for navigating ambivalence and desire. They connect seamlessly with our relationship with food and life in general. Dream analysis, it seems, is the compass guiding us through the labyrinth of our unconscious.

Tweetable Quotes

"Freud would say that dreams do not concern themselves with triviality." - Jennifer Neely

"We all dream all the time. We don't necessarily remember it." - Rachelle Heinemann

"It's not that Google is wrong. It's more so that it's a generalization about dream interpretation and that it cannot possibly be accurate for everybody because each person has their own interpretations.” - Rachelle Heinemann

"The conflict is even greater, and the unconscious really wants to underscore and make a point." - Jennifer Neely

“It’s such a fascinating way to understand the intricate mechanisms in our mind that are trying to navigate ambivalence and desire, which obviously is really connected with a relationship with food." - Rachelle Heinemann

Resources

Website: Jennifer A. Neely Psychotherapy

Phone: 212-242-0231