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In this webinar, Prof Anthony Korner will explore dreaming as an evolutionary, neurological, and relational process that shapes both species-wide development and individual psychological growth. Drawing on Mark Solms’ contemporary neuroscience of dreaming—particularly the shift beyond REM-based models—Prof Korner revisits Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams and proposes a modern, feeling-based, fluid approach to dreamwork. Rather than focusing solely on the reconstruction of past meaning, he will highlight dreaming as an inherently predictive, future-oriented capacity that supports emotional integration and self-organisation. Through discussion of Freud’s own dreams alongside examples from his clinical practice and personal experience, participants will be invited to consider how dreaming can illuminate therapeutic process and deepen psychotherapeutic work.

The webinar will then broaden to consider dreaming within a distinctly Australian context. Australia’s multicultural society—and its history marked by settler colonialism, dispossession, and conflict—presents both the challenge and the privilege of integrating diverse cultural influences. Prof Korner will reflect on the profound impact of Indigenous Australian understandings of “the Dreaming”, extending the concept far beyond “night dreams” to a foundational way of sensing identity, place, and relational belonging. He will consider how Indigenous perspectives on the Dreaming may enrich contemporary psychotherapy and offer a more expansive view of the human mind. The session will conclude with a discussion of personal dreaming, drawing on the work of Prof Russell Meares.