Nightmare relief
Leslie Ellis
April 3, 2025 DOI: 10.4324/9781003500902-14 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Psychoanalysis Psychotherapist |
| Key points | Proposes that the Nightmare Relief protocol, a five-stage embodied approach incorporating elements of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy, can effectively transform nightmare content and reduce associated distress. |
Abstract
The Nightmare Relief (NR) protocol is an embodied experiential approach to treating nightmares. NR incorporates elements of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) and includes steps that help with emotional and nervous system regulation. The protocol is a five-stage process: Instilling hope and positive expectation; calming and clearing; retelling the dream; finding and embodying helpful dream elements; and dreaming the dream onward. A detailed clinical example demonstrates the protocol’s application, showing how gathering multiple resources from the dream can lead to a natural and constructive transformation of nightmare content. The chapter also addresses what to do when dreams lack supportive elements, and discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the approach, including memory reconsolidation. Overall, the NR protocol aims to provide clinicians with a comprehensive, body-centered method for effectively treating nightmares and their associated distress.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |