Lucid dreaming as a technique in psychotherapy

Abstract

Lucid dreaming describes a state between consciousness and sleep. It is characterized above all by the dreamer’s awareness, that he/she is dreaming. In a lucid dream the dreamers have the ability to actively interfere with the dream content and to change its course. Through this technique, psychological skills such as perceived self-efficacy and self-control can be strengthened. Lucid dreaming has gained more attention as a research subject in recent years, particularly in neuropsychology. However, little research has been carried out concerning the use of lucid dreams as a treatment approach in psychotherapy. Lucid Dreaming Treatment (LDT) is an innovative treatment approach that shows great potential. Particularly for the treatment of nightmares, for example in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder, promising results with regard to the effectiveness of LDT have already been recorded. Despite increasing evidence of the positive effect of lucid dreams on the psyche, the evaluation of LDT as a psychotherapeutic technique is still at the beginning and further studies are necessary to examine the effect of LDT in more detail.