Begin Your Study of Jungian Dream Work

Dreams stand at the center of Jung’s approach to the unconscious. This course gives students a clear, guided introduction to Jung’s theory and practice of dream interpretation.

For C. G. Jung, dreams were not random mental fragments or merely disguised wishes. They were meaningful expressions of the unconscious, symbolic communications that could help reveal complexes, compensate the conscious attitude, and support the process of individuation. Jung 103: Jung and Dreams introduces students to the theory and practice of Jungian dream work. The course explores the history of dream interpretation, the science of dreams, Jung’s own writings on dreams, practical methods of dream interpretation, dreams and mythology, dreams and trauma, later depth psychological approaches to dream work, and the significance of Big Dreams. This course may be taken as a standalone course, or as the third required course in the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.
Enroll now

Learn Jung’s Approach to Dreams

Before we can work deeply with dreams, we need to understand how Jung placed dreams within his larger model of the psyche.

Jungian dream work depends on a careful understanding of the relationship between consciousness and the unconscious. Dreams often reveal what the conscious ego does not yet know, does not want to know, or cannot yet fully understand. They may point toward complexes, emotional patterns, unresolved conflicts, archetypal images, future possibilities, and movements within the individuation process. In Jung 103, students learn why dreams are so important in Jungian psychology and how dream images can be approached with care. The aim is not to impose fixed meanings on dream symbols, but to learn how to listen to the dream, gather associations, consider symbolic amplifications, and place the dream within the larger context of the dreamer’s life and psychological development. This course gives students a strong foundation in Jungian dream theory while also introducing practical principles for approaching dreams in a disciplined, respectful, and symbolically sensitive way.
Enroll now
Learn Jung’s Approach to Dreams

Who This Course Is For

This course is well suited for therapists, counselors, educators, clergy, spiritual directors, artists, writers, students of religion and mythology, and serious lay learners who want to understand dreams from a Jungian and depth psychological perspective.

It is especially appropriate for students who have completed Jung 101 and Jung 102, or who already have a working knowledge of Jungian psychology and want to study dream work in greater depth.

This course is also one of the four required courses in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

This course is especially helpful for students who want to understand:

  • Why dreams are central to Jungian psychology
  • How dreams express unconscious psychic life
  • The relationship between dreams, complexes, and symptoms
  • Jung’s method of dream interpretation
  • The role of association, amplification, and life context in dream work
  • How mythology can illuminate dream images
  • How trauma may appear in dreams and nightmares
  • Later Jungian and depth psychological approaches to dream interpretation
  • The meaning and importance of Big Dreams
  • How dream work supports the process of individuation

What You Will Study

In this course, we explore:

  • The history of dream interpretation in human culture
  • Ancient, religious, symbolic, and psychological approaches to dreams
  • The science of dreams and modern dream research
  • Jung’s writings, seminars, and reflections on dreams
  • The relationship between dreams, complexes, and the unconscious
  • Jung’s method of dream interpretation
  • Association, amplification, and symbolic context
  • Dreams and mythology
  • Dreams, nightmares, and trauma
  • Depth psychological dream interpretation after Jung
  • Big Dreams and their personal, cultural, and archetypal significance
  • How dream work fits into the larger process of individuation


The course is designed to make Jung’s approach to dreams understandable without reducing dream interpretation to formulas. Students receive a serious introduction to Jungian dream work in a format that is clear, paced, and accessible.

Your Instructor

  • James R. Newell, Ph.D.

    Senior Instructor

    James R. Newell, Ph.D.

    James Newell is an educator, counselor, personal coach, professional musician, and the director of the Depth Psychology Alliance. James earned his master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling and Theology from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, with a focus on Jungian psychology. He earned his doctorate in History of Religions from the Vanderbilt University Graduate School of Religion. James has taught online and face to face courses for Central Michigan University, Western Kentucky University, Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State University, and other institutions.

What others are saying:

Bonnie Bright, PhD, founder of the Depth Psychology Alliance

Dr. James Newell is a gifted teacher

Bonnie Bright, PhD, founder of the Depth Psychology Alliance

Dr. James Newell is a gifted teacher and scholar who has effectively organized an impressive amount of detailed research and information into a series of powerful classes and courses on Jung and Jung’s psychology, now available on Depth Psychology Academy. Students at all levels can gain a depth of understanding about how Jung’s ideas can change our lives and our world as Dr. Newell explains each topic very clearly and at exactly the right pace for students of all levels to take it in.
Ann Amberg, MCS, Transpersonal Leadership Consultant

James is a knowledgeable and caring instructor with an engaging teaching style

Ann Amberg, MCS, Transpersonal Leadership Consultant

I highly recommend Dr. James Newell’s courses. Upon completion of my certificate in Depth Psychology I had gained the confidence, focus and knowledge to support my success in my current PhD program in Jungian and Archetypal Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute. James is a knowledgeable and caring instructor with an engaging teaching style. All of the Depth Psychology Alliance courses I took: Introduction to Jungian Psychology, Active Imagination, Fairy Tales, Dreams, and many more, were phenomenal and I am most grateful for the opportunity to study with James.
Nirlap Bettenhauser, student

The courses I have taken with Dr. Newell have perfectly prepped me for my graduate studies in psychoanalysis

Nirlap Bettenhauser, student

This is an outstanding educational program where one can learn multiple areas of Jungian Psychology. These courses are very well structured with an appropriate course load and high quality texts. Plus the price is incredibly reasonable. The courses I have taken with Dr. Newell have been intellectually engaging and have perfectly prepped me for my graduate studies in psychoanalysis. Not something I expected to receive from the academy, but very grateful I did.
Monica Flores, Ed.D

Dr. James Newell is highly knowledgeable in Jungian Psychology

Monica Flores, Ed.D

Dr. James Newell is highly knowledgeable in Jungian Psychology. I learned so much from him about Jung and Jungian psychology when I began taking courses in Depth Psychology from the Depth Psychology Alliance online courses. Dr. Newell is open-minded and consistent. He has a smooth voice that can hold anyone’s attention. I recommend taking these courses through the Depth Psychology Academy.

Course Structure

A self-paced course designed for careful, guided study

Jung 103 is a self-paced course organized into eight modules. Students can move through the material at their own pace while following the course lessons, quizzes, readings or resources, and completion steps on the Academy site.

This course was designed as a clear introduction to Jungian dream work and as the recommended third step in the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Welcome to Jung and Dreams!
  • 2
    Module 1: A History of Dream Interpretation
    • M1/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M1/2: Course Syllabus
    • M1/3: Video Lesson: A History of Dream Interpretation
    • M1/4: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M1/5: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on pages 1-25 in the textbook)
    • M1/6: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M1/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M1/8: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M1/9: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M1/10: Additional, Optional Video Resource
  • 3
    Module 2: The Science of Dream Interpretation
    • M2/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M2/2: Video Lesson: The Science of Dreams
    • M2/3: Video Quiz
    • M2/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on the assigned readings, p. 26-55 in the textbook)
    • M2/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M2/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M2/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M2/8: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M2/9: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M2/10: Additional, Optional Videos
    • M2/11: Additional, Optional Video
  • 4
    Module 3: Jung and Dreams
    • M3/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M3/2: Video Lesson: Jung's Publications on Dreams
    • M3/3: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M3/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based p. 56-78 in the textbook)
    • M3/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources.
    • M3/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M3/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M3/8: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M3/9: Additional, Optional Video Resource
  • 5
    Module 4: Jung's Method of Dream Interpretation
    • M4/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M4/2: Video Lesson: Jung's Method of Dream Interpretation
    • M4/3: Video Lesson Quiz
    • M4/4: Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on pages 79-110 - chapter 8 - in the textbook)
    • M4/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M4/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M4/7: An additional, Optional Video Resource
  • 6
    Module 5: Dreams and Mythology
    • M5/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M5/2: Video Lesson: Dreams and Myth
    • M5/3: Module 5 Video Quiz
    • M5/4: Module 5 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on the assigned reading - pages 111-136 - for module 5).
    • M5/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M5/6: Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M5/8: Additional, Optional Video Resource
  • 7
    Module 6: Nightmares: Dreams and Trauma
    • M6/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M6/2: Video Lesson: Dreams and Trauma
    • M6/3: Module 6 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M6/4: Module 6 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on the assigned readings - pages 137-148 - for module 6).
    • M6/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M6/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M6/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M6/8: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M6/9: Additional, Optional Video
  • 8
    Module 7: Depth Dream Interpretation
    • M7/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M7/2: Video Lesson: Depth Dream Work
    • M7/3: Module 7 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M7/4: Module 7 Readings Quiz (All questions are based on the assigned readings for module 7).
    • M7/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources
    • M7/6: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M7/7: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M7/8: An Additional, Optional Resource for Study
  • 9
    Module 8: Big Dreams
    • M8/1: Learning and Assessment Activities
    • M8/2: Video Lesson: Big Dreams
    • M8/3: Module 8 Video Lesson Quiz
    • M8/4: Module 8 Readings Quiz - (All questions are based on pages 163-182 in the textbook)
    • M8/5: Suggested Readings and Additional Resources.
    • M8/6: Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M8/7: Additional, Optional Resource for Study
    • M8/8: Additional, Optional Video Resource
    • M8/9: Course Completion

A Strong Foundation for Working with Dreams

Jung 103 gives students the dream work foundation needed for deeper study in Jungian and depth psychology.

Dream work is one of the central practices of Jungian psychology. It is also one of the clearest ways students begin to encounter the unconscious as a living psychological reality. Dreams bring images, emotions, conflicts, memories, archetypal patterns, and symbolic possibilities into view. This course helps students approach dreams with greater care and seriousness. It prepares students for deeper work with active imagination, mythology, fairy tales, alchemy, and the symbolic life of the psyche. It also helps students understand why dream work remains so important for therapists, counselors, spiritual directors, artists, writers, and serious students of the unconscious. For many students, Jung 103 is where Jungian psychology becomes especially vivid and personal. The concepts introduced in earlier courses begin to move through image, story, feeling, symbol, and the strange intelligence of the dream.
Enroll now
A Strong Foundation for Working with Dreams

Part of the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology

Jung 103 is the third required course in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

Jung 101 is one of the four required courses in the Academy’s Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology.

The full certificate pathway includes:

  1. Jung 101: Introduction to Jungian Psychology
  2. Jung 102: Applied Jungian Psychology
  3. Jung 103: Jung and Dreams
  4. Jung 104: Jung and Active Imagination


Together, these four courses provide a guided foundation in Jungian concepts, applied depth psychology, dream work, and active imagination. Students who complete all four courses, including all required lessons, quizzes, readings or materials, and lesson completion steps, may request enrollment in the final Certificate Completion course after receiving the individual course completion certificates for all four courses.

Students may also take Jung 103 as a standalone course. It is complete in itself and is especially valuable for anyone who wants to understand Jung’s approach to dreams, symbols, the unconscious, and the process of individuation.

Jung 103 also prepares students for continued study in the Academy’s more advanced symbolic courses, including mythology, fairy tales, alchemy, and the broader history of depth psychology.

Continue into the Study of Dreams and the Unconscious

Jung 103 offers a clear and grounded introduction to one of the most important practices in Jungian psychology.

Whether students are pursuing the Certificate in Foundational Depth Psychology or studying dream work on its own, this course provides a serious foundation in Jung’s understanding of dreams and the symbolic life of the unconscious. Students will learn how dreams have been understood across history, how Jung approached dreams in his own work, how dream interpretation can support individuation, and why dreams continue to matter for psychological, spiritual, creative, and cultural life. Enroll now to begin a careful study of Jungian dream work and the symbolic language of the unconscious.
Enroll now