GROUP, Vol. 35, No.3,Fall2011 Book Review The CreativityofSocial Dreaming. Edited by W. Gordon Lawrence. Reviewed by Rosemary Segalla1 Thisbookstands onitsowninitsdescription ofthesocialdreaming matrix (SDM), a very specialmethod ofgaining accesstounconscious material ina group setting. Themany fine examples ofapplications with actualdreams reported givethereader rich illustrations ofdream material becoming partofthegroup unconscious, demonstrating justhowinextricably wehumansarelinked. Someoftheexamples are uncanny intheir demonstration ofthefluidity oftheunconscious. Forthoseofyouwhohavenevertakenpartin socialdreaming sessions,it wouldbe useful tohavea goodexplication oftheconcepts underlying theSDM. GordonLawrence undertakes thisinthefirst chapter. He describes thematrix asa "temporary system" inwhichthere is "aheightened opportunity inwaking lifeto recreate thematrix oftheunconscious whileasleep"(p.2).Thisoccursasmembers bring dreams intothematrix. He tellsus, Dreams comeintothematrix which hasthepurpose oftransforming thethinking ofthedream bymeans offree association so astomake links andconnections between andamong thedreams, andinthis process beavailable for newthinking and thoughts, (p.3) Thischapter setsthestage for thosefollowing inthat itexplicates bothbasictheory anditsgreat creative potential. Eachchapter isa special offering oftheeffectiveness oftheSDM inawidevariety ofsettings. Stressing application, thesechapters provide vividdreammaterial as itunfolds inoneormany sessions. Mostoftheapplications described areunique, demonstrating thecreative process Lawrence relates. They capture themany ways we 1 Correspondence should beaddressed toRosemary Segalla, PhD, 3551 Winfield Lane NW, Washington , DC20007. E-mail: rosemary544@verizon.net. ISSN 0362-4021©2011 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society 259 260 SEGALLA canbeincommunity with eachother, working tosolveproblems, toopencreative processes, andtoacknowledge ourinevitable interconnectedness. In theauthors words, "socialdreaming focuses onthedream byholding a socio-centric viewpoint. Itisknowledge oftheenvironment that isimportant asindividuals facethetragedy andcomedy ofbeing"(p. 3). Thisstress on thedreamrather thantheindividual isoneofthecomponents oftheSDM thatfosters openness byallmembers ofthe matrix. Thereis nota right orwrong; there isjustthedreamandthemembers associations tothedream.Thisallowsfora morespontaneous unfolding ofthe creative processofthematrix. Whatcomesforth, as described bytheseauthors, often seemsquiteremarkable. Members ofthematrix areseatedina particular seat arrangement that creates thecontainer orholding environment towhich members canreturn againandagain. Thechapters range from themost personal, asinFrancis Oeser s"Social Dreaming toCreativity," toothers inwhich uniquegroups arechosen toengage very particular issues, suchasWolf Werdigier s"SocialDreaming With Black Rappers inNewYork." Oeserexplores hispersonal experience, describing thisas "daring toallowthe unbidden" toemerge, then "owning andaccepting it"(p.7)and- perhaps mostdifficult for many people- "risking telling it." Thefollowing chapter, "Image toGesture: SocialDreaming WithStudent Theatre Directors," byLaurieSlade,explores the SDM asusedwith student theater directors. There arevividdescriptions ofseveral matrices that convey therichness oftheexperience for allinvolved. Chapter 4,"AMasterPlanExperience WithSocialDreaming," byDomenico Agresta and EleonoraPlanera,is another exampleoftheSDM beingused in a schoolsetting, working witha variety ofissuessuchas bullying andlackofrespectforschoolrules .In these45-minute sessions, thestudents begantoaddress disruptions intheschool.Working from a hypothesis thattheSDM "couldcreate a safespacetoexperiment withnewwaystocommunicate andrelate" (p.41),the authors described thesematrix experiences, conveying thatthecomplex issuesin aneducational setting canbehelpedbytheuseofa matrix. Chapter 5istitled "LowShotonReality : Dreaming ina Primary School." Author LauraSelvaggi sgoalwastodetermine "howsocialdreaming canspread itsbeneficialeducational andtransformative potential intheearly years" (p.53).Thiswasa mostenjoyable chapter inthat thereported dreams anddialogues werebeautifully rendered, capturing theguileandguilelessness ofyoung children. Selvaggi seesthe SDM asproviding children with thetoolsnecessary todealwith trauma intheir lives. There isa switch insettings inchapter 6,"TheSlavery intheMind:Inhibition andExhibition," byJulian Manley. Thismatrix isconducted intheBritish Empire andCommonwealth Museums exhibition titled Breaking theChains, where people attending theexhibition canbe ina SDM, followed bya dialogueanddiscussion. Thehopeisthat participants inthematrices cangain"adeeper andmoremeaningfulunderstanding " ofslavery issues.Theauthor talksabout"aslavery inthemind that chainsusinourrational thoughts andideasabouthumandilemmas" (p.83). BookReview: The Creativity ofSocial Dreaming 261 Thevariety ofpopulations and settings is explored further in chapter 7,"Migrant Dreams:Integrating Political Refugees andImmigrants intheLocalItalian Community," byDonatellaOrtonaandEleonoraPlanera.Theauthors workwith women ina United Nations shelter home.Thesewomen, applying for political refugeestatus , wereabletousetheSDM effectively. Intheauthors' words, "through a non-judgmental, dialogical form ofcommunication, SD offered a dissipating effect onshared anxiety andallowedtheopenacknowledgement ofprejudices basedon fear andignorance" (p.91). Chapter 8 finds theauthors working withcadetpilots. Thechapter, titled "Selection ofCadetPilots" andwritten byTizianaLiccardo, introduces theSDM as a toolfor selecting thosewhowouldbe trained tobe pilots. Again, weseea unique application oftheSDM.Without detailing theprocess, I found this useofthematrix tobequitedifferent andunusual compared toothers, andI expect wewillseesome innovative workemerging from thisstudy. Chapter 9,"TheTraining ofFamily Mediators," byFrancesco Tortono, isparticularly clinical, withanabundance ofrichmaterial. TheSDM isusedtotrain family mediators in a two-year program. Theuse ofthematrix is an effort to improve problem-solving skills by"brainstorming, tothepsychical energies activated bythe matrix" (p.109).Aninteresting, accidental finding wasthat "learners whomadethe SocialDreaming experience atthebeginning oftheir training seemedtobe,during theexperiential group work, moreabletointuit emotional dynamics thanlearners from pastyears, whenSocialDreaming wasnotused"(p.109). Chapter 10,"SocialDreaming WithLawyers," byMattiaTortono, arosefrom, intheauthor s words, "awishtoexplore theeffects ofSocialDreaming onpeople who,professionally, areinclined touse a prestructured visionoftheworld, one whichreduces thepotential forcreativity" (p. 119).Theauthorssuccesswiththis population encouraged hertowanttogo further. She"hypothesized that...