April 26th. A Virtual Conversation with Dr. Deirdre Barrett, Author of Pandemic Dreams

[David Levine]

Science Writers in New York Presents A Virtual Conversation with Dr. Deirdre Barrett, Author of  Pandemic Dreams Wednesday, April 26 at 7 PM EDT on Zoom

Since the COVID-19 pandemic swept around the world, people have reported unusually vivid and bizarre dream lives. The virus itself is the star of many—literally or in one of its metaphoric guises. As a dream researcher at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Deirdre Barrett was immediately curious to see what our dream lives would tell us about our deepest reactions to the pandemic. Pandemic Dreams (Oneiroi Press) draws on her survey of over 9,000 dreams about the COVID-19 crisis.

On April 26, SWINY co-chair David Levine (@dlloydlevine) will talk with Dr. Barrett about her book as well as her research into dreams.  Pandemic Dreams describes how dreaming has reflected each aspect of the pandemic: fear of catching the virus, reactions to sheltering at home, work changes, homeschooling, and an individual’s increased isolation or crowding. Her book explains practical exercises for dream interpretation, reduction of nightmares, and incubation of helpful, problem-solving dreams. It also examines the larger arena of what these collective dreams tell us about our instinctive, unconscious responses to the threat and how we might integrate them for more livable policies through these times.

About Dr. Deirdre Barrett

Deirdre Barrett, PhD, is a past president of both the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the American Psychological Association’s Div. 30, The Society for Psychological Hypnosis. She has written four books: Supernormal Stimuli, Waistland, The Committee of Sleep, and The Pregnant Man & Other Cases from a Hypnotherapist’s Couch.

Dr. Barrett has published academic articles and chapters on health, hypnosis, dreams, and evolutionary psychology. She is editor in chief of the journal Dreaming: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams and a consulting editor for Imagination, Cognition, and Personality and The International Journal for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Dr. Barrett's commentary on psychological issues has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, Fox, PBS, The Discovery Channel, and the BBC. She has been interviewed for dream articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Life, Time, and Newsweek. Her own articles have appeared in Psychology Today and Scientific American Mind. Dr. Barrett has lectured at Esalen, the Smithsonian, and at universities around the world.

Have a question for Dr. Deirdre Barret you would like answered? Submit it here.

When: Wednesday, April 26, 7 to 8 pm EDT Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j-ccB8JxSVKznYqv4dJkpg