TREATING CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA AND COMPLEX TRAUMA THROUGH JUNGIAN DREAMWORK: A PRISON-BASED CASE STUDY
LIFE International Journal of Health and Life-Sciences October 14, 2025 Dustin Warden
A woman with chronic schizophrenia, complex PTSD, anxiety, and depression, incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, was treated with an integrative approach combining Jungian dreamwork, guided hypnagogic induction, symbolic reframing, and trauma-focused narrative therapy. Hallucinations and nightmares were interpreted as disowned psychic fragments; she learned lucid dreaming, meditative coping skills, and dream preparation rituals. Over time, she gained agency in her dream life, re-integrated dissociated parts of herself, and confronted a symbolic “poltergeist” figure representing unresolved trauma. She ultimately rejected financial dependency on her abuser, reasserted personal boundaries, and re-engaged with psychiatric care. Hallucinations diminished, and residual trauma was reframed as material for growth.