ABSTRACT
Clinicians experienced in treating combat veterans recognize the prevalence of military-related traumatic events among their clients. Most psychotherapists working with clients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both veterans and non-veterans, are also likely to hear clients sharing their experiences of recurrent, traumati-cally-based, nightmares. A survivor’s experience of recurrent memories, in the form of dream images (often referencing traumatic events) is considered one of the “hallmark” symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatically-based nightmares often include thoughts, feelings, and actions related to a distressing event (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2000). However, very few counseling and mental health programs (including those specifically focused on veteran PTSD recovery or combat redeployment issues) have established treatment interventions which address distressing nightmares or attempt to understand the traumatic situations revealed within a nightmare story. Instead, nightmares are almost always only addressed in counseling programs within the context of a larger diagnostic assessment of PTSD symptoms.
