Andy Matlow
Many years ago I started doing Jungian based Archetypal Dreamwork. It changed how I relate to myself and how I relate to the world.
Although my outer life was very good—I had a great marriage, good friends, generally enjoyed my job, and made a decent living—I felt a yearning, a connection I could not name. I felt something was missing. As the pull for “something more” became stronger, I found myself open to a suggestion made by my wife to join her at an Archetypal Dreamwork retreat in Vermont. She had been involved in the work for many years and had gently nudged me to try it. Suddenly, I was game. |
What transpired during that first retreat blew the cover on a pattern of behavior I had adapted to deal with pain and conflict. I was opened to feel old wounds that never quite healed and began to feel the missing connection I could not name.
I discovered by working with my dreams that my default position when facing pain or difficult situations was to close myself off, and shut down rather than feel it. At times I felt unworthy and needed to prove myself to others. I relied on being successful, pretending that everything was cool when it really wasn’t, and pleasing others to fill an emptiness I felt inside. Dreamwork revealed that these were blind spots and eventually allowed me to embrace the vulnerability beneath them.
I realized that this kind of inner work is light years ahead of conventional therapy, primarily because it works directly with the unconscious. It doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters.
I began studying with Archetypal Dreamwork teachers who have worked with clients and their dreams for decades. This led me to become part of a community of dream practitioners who train together, share our experiences and follow a code of ethics which is the basis of how we work with clients.
I studied psychology in the 70's at Goddard College and was particularly intrigued by Gestalt Therapy—a technique that incorporates the role-playing of different parts of the psyche. My intention was to go into that field. However, my internships in mental illness treatment centers left me disillusioned by the world of psychology, where I witnessed a profound degree of ineptitude and lack of empathy for the patients. These internships created a negative impression of what my future might hold if I continued on that career path. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
For twenty five years I painted public and private trompe l’oeil murals. I enjoyed that career which eventually morphed into designing and building energy-efficient homes that blend into the New England landscape. While my career was fulfilling to a degree and successful by most standards, I was ready for a change. The profound impact of my own dreamwork inspired the desire to guide others through the mystery of their dreams, as I have been guided. In some ways it feels like a homecoming--a calling. I have come to embrace dreamwork and now feel the un-named connection and missing piece I was searching for.
I discovered by working with my dreams that my default position when facing pain or difficult situations was to close myself off, and shut down rather than feel it. At times I felt unworthy and needed to prove myself to others. I relied on being successful, pretending that everything was cool when it really wasn’t, and pleasing others to fill an emptiness I felt inside. Dreamwork revealed that these were blind spots and eventually allowed me to embrace the vulnerability beneath them.
I realized that this kind of inner work is light years ahead of conventional therapy, primarily because it works directly with the unconscious. It doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters.
I began studying with Archetypal Dreamwork teachers who have worked with clients and their dreams for decades. This led me to become part of a community of dream practitioners who train together, share our experiences and follow a code of ethics which is the basis of how we work with clients.
I studied psychology in the 70's at Goddard College and was particularly intrigued by Gestalt Therapy—a technique that incorporates the role-playing of different parts of the psyche. My intention was to go into that field. However, my internships in mental illness treatment centers left me disillusioned by the world of psychology, where I witnessed a profound degree of ineptitude and lack of empathy for the patients. These internships created a negative impression of what my future might hold if I continued on that career path. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
For twenty five years I painted public and private trompe l’oeil murals. I enjoyed that career which eventually morphed into designing and building energy-efficient homes that blend into the New England landscape. While my career was fulfilling to a degree and successful by most standards, I was ready for a change. The profound impact of my own dreamwork inspired the desire to guide others through the mystery of their dreams, as I have been guided. In some ways it feels like a homecoming--a calling. I have come to embrace dreamwork and now feel the un-named connection and missing piece I was searching for.