The power of dreams and the wish to decode their messages has been an ancient quest across cultures on Earth. From witches and shamans to contemporary psychoanalysts, the importance of understanding the personal and cultural meaning of dreams has been integral to understanding ourselves as human beings.
3-5 October 2025
£350 | CPD Certified | 8 places available
(Psychgeist members: £280)
Join us for a unique weekend retreat designed specifically for therapists interested in exploring the symbolic world of dreams.
Set in the secluded natural surroundings of Naturebase, with woodland, campfires, and an ancient hill fort, this retreat offers space to slow down and listen inward. Through dream circles, creative expression, and embodied exploration, we will deepen our relationship with the unconscious and expand our therapeutic toolkit.
The programme includes:
Nightly dream intention-setting and drum circles
Morning meditation and dream sharing
Dream drama (constellations)
Creative sessions using drawing, journaling, and natural artefacts
Time to reflect, walk, and reconnect with yourself in nature
You’ll leave with practical techniques for individual and group dreamwork, and a deepened understanding of your own dreamworld.
This retreat is CPD certified, with single occupancy rooms for comfort and space.
Limited to 8 participants.
FACILITATORS
Laura Roklicer, PhD, is a psychologist and a dreamwork practitioner. She is a lucid dreamer and a writer, and for the past three years, she has been leading workshops for artists and therapists on the creative use of dreams for mental wellbeing.
Laura presented her research on dreamwork at the International Association for the Study of Dreams conference (2023 and 2024, where she also chaired a research symposium), London Arts-Based Research Centre 2023 conference, Talking Research 2023, and most recently the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity 2025 conference at the Paris Brain Institute.
. Her research was also published in the International Journal of Dream Research, and has been submitted for publication to The Journal of Creative Behavior and Creativity Research Journal.
Laura writes for Psychology Today, where she shares research and tips on lucid dreaming and dreamwork for therapists. She was also interviewed for the Guardian where she shared her views on the future of dreamwork.
For the past year, Laura has been working with a group of therapists in monthly workshops, as well as the general public at the Swansea Wellbeing Centre. Through this work, she has developed and keeps refining a practical model for combining dreamwork, storytelling, and drama as therapeutic tools.
"I started my doctoral research in search of the dreams’ creative potential, but I ended up unravelling the therapeutic side of combining creativity with dreams. Expressing my own haunting dreams creatively through a very unconscious process allowed me to understand myself against the confusing background of traumatic life events, and I continuously see this incredible effect dreamwork has on anyone willing to look inside."
Barry Hicks is an experienced and accredited Gestalt therapist, trained and practiced in
working with dreams using the Gestalt Dream Method.
working with dreams using the Gestalt Dream Method.
Barry has a long history of dream work from the mid 1970’s on working with Tony Crisp
(aka: Dream Hawk, co-founder of the The British Wheel of Yoga, author of Dreams and
Dreaming and Dream Dictionary amongst many other titles and articles).
(aka: Dream Hawk, co-founder of the The British Wheel of Yoga, author of Dreams and
Dreaming and Dream Dictionary amongst many other titles and articles).
Barry has since worked with and attended a great variety of dream workshops from
different global shamanic traditions to Jungian and then to Gestalt, which, being a truly
integrative modality, allowed for the incorporation of all the above to inform his practice in a safe and trauma informed way.
different global shamanic traditions to Jungian and then to Gestalt, which, being a truly
integrative modality, allowed for the incorporation of all the above to inform his practice in a safe and trauma informed way.
"I first came to dream work from a need to unravel a sense of lostness and depression as a teenager which threw me into a deep existential crisis. Stumbling across Dream and
Encounter groups back then opened up for me a deep journey into an understanding of
myself and my relationship with others. This became a rich seam of support for my own
journey into greater self-understanding and self-acceptance. I am still forever amazed at the complexity and wisdom that shows up and informs me from inner world of my dreams. All I have to do is pay attention.
Encounter groups back then opened up for me a deep journey into an understanding of
myself and my relationship with others. This became a rich seam of support for my own
journey into greater self-understanding and self-acceptance. I am still forever amazed at the complexity and wisdom that shows up and informs me from inner world of my dreams. All I have to do is pay attention.
For me working safely with dreams in my personal world and with my clients is the gift that
keeps on giving, and I would never say that I am finished in my learning of this fascinating
and exciting realm."
keeps on giving, and I would never say that I am finished in my learning of this fascinating
and exciting realm."
NATUREBASE
- Single occupancy rooms
- Secluded area nestled in the heart of West Wales
...with woodland, campfire areas, and a hill fort
These workshops can be powerful and transformative. By their nature, they can also be challenging. We will always ask for consent from all participants before proceeding with any dream work and continue to do so through each stage, reserving the right to wind down if we feel it appropriate.
Spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis, and any conflicts of interest will be made known prior to the retreat.