Older people's experiences of dream coaching.

BACKGROUND

Recalling and talking about dreams could initiate dream work among older people and provide an opportunity for self-confrontation and personal growth, which could in turn promote gerotranscendental development. The present article describes older people's opinions about participating in a dream-coaching group; it also briefly describes the theoretical foundation of dream coaching.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The study aim was to investigate older people's experience of participating in a dream-coaching group based on Jungian psychology.

DESIGN

A descriptive design was used.

METHOD

Retrospective interviews were explored using qualitative content analysis.

FINDINGS

The participants were satisfied with the arrangement of the dream-coaching groups. All participants believed that they had recalled their dreams and thought much more about their dreams during the period in which the dream-coaching group met. Three diverse appraisals of participating in a dream-coaching group, which had different effects on the participants, were identified: "An activity like any other activity," "An activity that led to deeper thoughts about the meaning of dreams," and "An activity that led to deeper thoughts both about the meaning of dreams and about how dreams can improve one's understanding of the life situation."

CONCLUSIONS

It is possible to arrange dream-coaching groups for older people and could be a way to promote personal development using this type of intervention.

IMPLICATIONS

The study provides some guidance as to how such a group could be organized, thus facilitating use of dream-coaching groups in gerontological care.