This is the first journal publication to introduce Dr. Jennings’ person-centered dream analysis method and explain its principles and techniques. The transcript shows how a young mother used her “dream of the intrusive asparagus” to recognize the harmful intrusions of her mother-in-law as well-intended “help” and find a way to build a better relationship. Jennings, J. (1986). The dream is the dream is the dream: A person-centered approach to dream analysis. Person-Centered Review, 1(3), 310-333.

This example of dream-centered dream analysis was published in a leading journal in the field of humanistic and positive psychology. It rejects the negative theory that dreams function only to disguise the socially forbidden wishes of the unconscious mind. Instead, dreams are honest and positive expressions of a person’s day-to-day feelings, experiences and perceptions of oneself and others. The transcript shows how this dreamer finds her self-esteem is embodied in the amazing “dream of the lion in a shopping cart.” Citation: Jennings, J. (2007). Dreams without disguise: The self-evident nature of dreams. The Humanistic Psychologist, 35(3), 1-22.

This article shows how 17 year old Dora stood toe to toe with Sigmund Freud himself in an effort to reclaim the person-centered meaning of her own two dreams. Contrary to Freud’s insistence that Dora’s dreams revealed her unconscious sexual desire for Herr K, she was utterly repulsed by Herr K’s lecherous advances and was seeking parental protection from his sexual abuse. Jennings, J. (2022). Dreams without disguise: Using Freud’s case of Dora to demonstrate a radically client-centered approach to dreams. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 63(0), 1-23.

Freud’s first-ever analysis of his dream of Irma’s Injection was intended to demonstrate that all dreams are disguised expression of forbidden unconscious wishes. Instead, using biographical facts and Freud’s own thoughts, the images in the Irma dream were expressing Freud’s public embarrassment and self-reproaches for his failed treatment of a close family friend, which also threatened to destroy his professional ambitions. Jennings, J. (2024). The Irma Injection dream without disguise: Releasing the self-evident bounty of Freud’s foremost demonstration of dream interpretation. International Journal of Dream Research, 17(2).

This article shows how a victim of childhood sexual abuse was able to use his “dream of the door ajar” to better understand the enduring impact of the trauma on his self-esteem and find a path forward without shame. Jennings, J. (2022). Clinical application of person-centered dream analysis in the treatment of sexual abuse. ATSA Forum, 34(2), 1-9.

This article explores the person-centered meaning of dreams in the context of mental imagery and cognitive science. The transcript shows how this woman used her “dream of the dead skiers” to understand how the seeming “security” of emotional numbness was blocking her pursuit of a more authentic self who was truly engaged in living a full life. Jennings, J. (1995). Dream-centered dream study: The pursuit of prolucidity. Journal of Mental Imagery, 19(1-2), 43-66.

This article from the premier journal for the history of psychology reviews the ways that Freud’s theories were decisively influenced by Judaism and his Jewish ethnicity. Most importantly, the article reveals how Freud’s realization of the importance of dreams was absolutely central during the decade of his greatest psychological discoveries and drew from the ancient “dreams tractate” in the Talmud. Jennings, J. (2023). Engaging with the unknown: How Judaism enabled Freud’s psychological discoveries. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 60(1), 1-20.

For decades, dream researchers have neglected the capacity for ordinary people to understand the meaning of their own dreams. Dr. Jennings has innovated a new research methodology that enhances the richness of dream data and offers a means of directly studying the continuity of dream life with waking life. Citation: Jennings, J. (2025). Pilot demonstration of a Dreamer-Centered Dream Series methodology for enriched phenomenological data and improved testing of the Continuity and Embodied Cognition Theories of Dreaming. International Journal of Dream Research, 18(1), 47-58.