{"id":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","oai_identifier":"oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:miami1362784482"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ohiolink/oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:miami1362784482","repository":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","name":"OhioLINK","base_url":"https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/oai/oai"},"display":{"title":"Creative Explorations in Experiential Personal Construct Psychology: Accessing Nonverbal Meanings in Dreams","abstract":"In the present study, I explored the effects of engaging with salient dream images on participants’ understandings of self, dream image, and world. Framed by a background of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP; Kelly, 1955), Experiential Personal Construct Psychology (EPCP; Leitner, 1988), Archetypal Psychology (Hillman, 1975), and the aesthetic perspective in EPCP (Thomas & Schlutsmeyer, 2004), my aim in this study was to encourage participants to take an aesthetic perspective towards a salient dream image and to develop a dynamic relationship with the image as the imaginal other. Four college students participating in a senior Capstone on dreams took part in the study. Participants engaged in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, an approach that alternated between presentational methods (e.g., creating a three-dimensional representation of the image, enacting the perspective of the image) and discursive methods (e.g., written characterizations, journaling) for expressing their understandings of a dream image and themselves. Three to four months after engaging in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, participants participated in a Post-Dream Work Session that involved writing a final self-characterization, participating in an interview that asked them about their experiences and understandings of the dream image throughout various phases of the study, and providing contrasts for previously identified constructs. I analyzed the data collected through these methods using a case study approach, examining the personal meanings of working with a dream using this method, as well as changes in participants’ processes of meaning-making. Over the course of the study, all four participants exhibited shifts in their understandings of the image, themselves, and their worlds. I interpreted the results of the study to indicate that through their engagement with a salient dream image, participants connected with important personal meanings and demonstrated personal growth in the direction of these meanings. I suggest that these changes reflect participants’ increased awareness of presentationally symbolized meanings, initially residing at a low level of awareness and partially accessible through engagement with dream imagery.","abstract_html":"In the present study, I explored the effects of engaging with salient dream images on participants’ understandings of self, dream image, and world. Framed by a background of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP; Kelly, 1955), Experiential Personal Construct Psychology (EPCP; Leitner, 1988), Archetypal Psychology (Hillman, 1975), and the aesthetic perspective in EPCP (Thomas & Schlutsmeyer, 2004), my aim in this study was to encourage participants to take an aesthetic perspective towards a salient dream image and to develop a dynamic relationship with the image as the imaginal other. Four college students participating in a senior Capstone on dreams took part in the study. Participants engaged in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, an approach that alternated between presentational methods (e.g., creating a three-dimensional representation of the image, enacting the perspective of the image) and discursive methods (e.g., written characterizations, journaling) for expressing their understandings of a dream image and themselves. Three to four months after engaging in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, participants participated in a Post-Dream Work Session that involved writing a final self-characterization, participating in an interview that asked them about their experiences and understandings of the dream image throughout various phases of the study, and providing contrasts for previously identified constructs. I analyzed the data collected through these methods using a case study approach, examining the personal meanings of working with a dream using this method, as well as changes in participants’ processes of meaning-making. Over the course of the study, all four participants exhibited shifts in their understandings of the image, themselves, and their worlds. I interpreted the results of the study to indicate that through their engagement with a salient dream image, participants connected with important personal meanings and demonstrated personal growth in the direction of these meanings. I suggest that these changes reflect participants’ increased awareness of presentationally symbolized meanings, initially residing at a low level of awareness and partially accessible through engagement with dream imagery.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Conaway, Kathryn Aileen"],"institution":"Miami University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Leitner, Larry"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-03-11","date_published":"2013-03-11","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z","subjects":["Psychotherapy","Psychology","Experiential Personal Construct Psychology","dreams","presentational symbolism","creativity","meaning-making","levels of awareness"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362784482","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Leitner, Larry"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Conaway, Kathryn Aileen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-03-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Miami University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Miami University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Psychotherapy","Psychology","Experiential Personal Construct Psychology","dreams","presentational symbolism","creativity","meaning-making","levels of awareness"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362784482"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["In the present study, I explored the effects of engaging with salient dream images on participants’ understandings of self, dream image, and world. Framed by a background of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP; Kelly, 1955), Experiential Personal Construct Psychology (EPCP; Leitner, 1988), Archetypal Psychology (Hillman, 1975), and the aesthetic perspective in EPCP (Thomas & Schlutsmeyer, 2004), my aim in this study was to encourage participants to take an aesthetic perspective towards a salient dream image and to develop a dynamic relationship with the image as the imaginal other. Four college students participating in a senior Capstone on dreams took part in the study. Participants engaged in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, an approach that alternated between presentational methods (e.g., creating a three-dimensional representation of the image, enacting the perspective of the image) and discursive methods (e.g., written characterizations, journaling) for expressing their understandings of a dream image and themselves. Three to four months after engaging in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, participants participated in a Post-Dream Work Session that involved writing a final self-characterization, participating in an interview that asked them about their experiences and understandings of the dream image throughout various phases of the study, and providing contrasts for previously identified constructs. I analyzed the data collected through these methods using a case study approach, examining the personal meanings of working with a dream using this method, as well as changes in participants’ processes of meaning-making. Over the course of the study, all four participants exhibited shifts in their understandings of the image, themselves, and their worlds. I interpreted the results of the study to indicate that through their engagement with a salient dream image, participants connected with important personal meanings and demonstrated personal growth in the direction of these meanings. I suggest that these changes reflect participants’ increased awareness of presentationally symbolized meanings, initially residing at a low level of awareness and partially accessible through engagement with dream imagery."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.215","7.6 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Creative Explorations in Experiential Personal Construct Psychology: Accessing Nonverbal Meanings in Dreams"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Leitner, Larry"],"dc:creator":["Conaway, Kathryn Aileen"],"dc:date":["2013-03-11"],"dc:description":["In the present study, I explored the effects of engaging with salient dream images on participants’ understandings of self, dream image, and world. Framed by a background of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP; Kelly, 1955), Experiential Personal Construct Psychology (EPCP; Leitner, 1988), Archetypal Psychology (Hillman, 1975), and the aesthetic perspective in EPCP (Thomas & Schlutsmeyer, 2004), my aim in this study was to encourage participants to take an aesthetic perspective towards a salient dream image and to develop a dynamic relationship with the image as the imaginal other. Four college students participating in a senior Capstone on dreams took part in the study. Participants engaged in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, an approach that alternated between presentational methods (e.g., creating a three-dimensional representation of the image, enacting the perspective of the image) and discursive methods (e.g., written characterizations, journaling) for expressing their understandings of a dream image and themselves. Three to four months after engaging in the Expressive/Experiential Dream Work Method, participants participated in a Post-Dream Work Session that involved writing a final self-characterization, participating in an interview that asked them about their experiences and understandings of the dream image throughout various phases of the study, and providing contrasts for previously identified constructs. I analyzed the data collected through these methods using a case study approach, examining the personal meanings of working with a dream using this method, as well as changes in participants’ processes of meaning-making. Over the course of the study, all four participants exhibited shifts in their understandings of the image, themselves, and their worlds. I interpreted the results of the study to indicate that through their engagement with a salient dream image, participants connected with important personal meanings and demonstrated personal growth in the direction of these meanings. I suggest that these changes reflect participants’ increased awareness of presentationally symbolized meanings, initially residing at a low level of awareness and partially accessible through engagement with dream imagery."],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.215","7.6 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1362784482"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Miami University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Psychotherapy","Psychology","Experiential Personal Construct Psychology","dreams","presentational symbolism","creativity","meaning-making","levels of awareness"],"dc:title":["Creative Explorations in Experiential Personal Construct Psychology: Accessing Nonverbal Meanings in Dreams"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Miami University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z"}