DreamStar Institute Course Management Area

Available courses

DreamStar Certification Course

DreamStar Mentored Certification Practicum

Advanced Psychotherapy Training Series: Informed Love as a Curative Factor

Advanced Psychotherapy Training Series: Progressive Triangulation in Psychotherapy and the Spiritual Journey

Advanced Psychotherapy Training Series: Balancing Transpersonal Perspectives in Counseling with Conventional Ethical Requirements

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Welcome to the DreamStar Institute course management area. Here you can obtain training and certification in the Five-Star Method^tm––a systematic dream work method based on co-creative dream theory. While the FiveStar Method is easy to learn, it represents a distinctive approach, and provides a non-invasive method that can be used by professionals and lay dream workers, alike.

I have recently published chapters in Working with Dreams and PTSD Nightmares and Dream Understanding Biology, Psychology, and Culture on the FiveStar Method (FSM). Copies of those chapters, as well as dozens of other journal articles and essays can be found on the main DreamStar site.

Course Offerings

If the following is confusing, please don't hesitate to contact me for a videoconferenced meeting to discuss your interests in DreamStar courses. We can meet via Zoom at a mutually convenient time.

Certification Course (Cost: $199), consisting of 7 modules of self-paced online study. Each module has its own certificate of completion. A trainer will provide feedback for your responses to the interactive questions posted on the Course Forum. If you have already enrolled in the Non-Certification Course, you can upgrade to the Certification Course from within the Course itself. There is a Paypal link on the Course home page that will allow you to upgrade for $130 whenever you'd like.

Mentored Practicum (Cost: $299) (Prerequisite: Certification Course). During the practicum, you will schedule at least three Zoom videoconferenced sessions with me, submit samples of actual dream work that I will review with you during our video sessions sessions, and participate in personal dream work as a way to develop a hands-on competency with this methodology. The practicum will involve written and verbal feedback from me. Cost: $299. (Please note that Dr. Sparrow reserves the right not to award certification, and to return pro-rated Practicum fees if it becomes evident that certain criteria of completion will not be met. A contract specifying those completion criteria will be signed by both parties prior to the beginning of the Mentored Practicum. Additional work may be agreed upon by both parties in order to satisfy the criteria of completion.)

Upon completion of the Certification Course and Mentored Practicum, you will receive a certificate confirming your DreamStar Certification.

Enrollment Procedures

If you are ready to enroll, you need to open a free site account first. Simply click on Login and you will be asked if you already have an account.
Fill out the account information.
Then an email will be sent to you to verify your account.
Next, you can return here, and click on the Certification Course link below.
You will then have the option to pay $199 through PayPal to be enrolled in the Certification Course.

If you have any questions in the mean time, please email me at gscotspar@gmail.com.

Skip available courses

A self-paced course consisting of 7 modules. When you decide to enroll, you can choose between two payment options:

Cost: $199, which includes feedback from a trainer for all required Online Forum postings.

The seven modules are as follows:

MODULE 1: Lucid Dreaming as a Foundation for a New Approach to Dream Analysis (4 contact hours)
MODULE 2: Understanding Dreams as an Interactive Process (3 contact hours)
MODULE 3: An Introduction to the FiveStar Method (3 contact hours)
MODULE 4: Working Ethically and Non-Invasively with Dream Imagery (3 contact hours)
MODULE 5: An In-Depth Exploration of the FiveStar Method (4 contact hours)
MODULE 6: Methods for Enhancing Awareness and Constructive Engagement in Dreams (4 contact hours)
MODULE 7: Fostering Spiritual Communion and Deep Healing in Dreams (3 contact hours)

At the completion of the Certification Course, you must sign up for the Mentored Practicum if you wish to pursue DreamStar Certification. Upon successful completion of the Certification Course and Mentored Practicum, as long as the completion criteria have been satisfied, you will receive a certificate confirming your DreamStar Certification.

You need to enroll in this course after you have completed the Full Version of the Certification Course.

A mentored practicum with Dr. Sparrow. The practicum is required, in addition to the Full version of the Certification Course, for DreamStar Certification.

The Mentored Practicum is designed to assure that you are capable of implementing co-creative dream analysis into your dream work practice, whether you are a lay dream worker or a professional therapist.

The Practicum includes:

Three one-hour mentoring/feedback sessions with Dr. Sparrow.
Two video dreamwork samples that are at least 30 minutes in length, and a written self-analysis of each session. Dr. Sparrow will evaluate your video work samples with the rubric shown below.
We may also work with your dreams, and review your readiness to incorporate co-creative dream analysis into your practice context.
Additional mentoring is available following the certification course practicum.
The practicum involves 9 contact hours.
Cost: $299

This course in unrelated to the DreamStar Certification process, but has been designed to assist helping professionals in the application of advanced methods.

This course is based on a paper that was was published in 2007, based on my work with religious experiences, and therapeutic or curative factors in counseling. The definitive version was published in Mental Health, Religion & Culture, December, 2007. doi:10.1080/13674670802040087 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13674670802040087).

Research concerning the curative factors in psychotherapy has thus far overlooked reports of religious experiences as a potential source of hypotheses. The author examines a variety of anecdotal encounters with personifications of higher power for the presence of therapeutic factors. He finds that the attitude expressed by the being, as perceived by the recipients, reflects unconditional positive regard (UCR) in the context of a thorough and intimate knowledge of the person. He thus hypothesizes that the curative factor operating in such experiences is ‘‘informed love’’, defined as the twofold experience of feeling completely loved and completely known. The author discusses the differences between informed love and UCR, and the implications of informed love in modern psychotherapy practice.

Cost $18 via Paypal

This course in unrelated to the DreamStar Certification process, but has been designed to assist helping professionals in the application of advanced methods.

This course is based on a paper that was was published in 2008 in Mental Health, Religion & Culture, distilling some of my work with dreams, religious experiences, and principles of systems theory.

Relationship triangles are usually considered symptomatic of family dysfunction in systems-oriented therapy, but they may also serve a progressive, transitional role in relationships. The author examines the phenomenon and function of “progressive” triangles in East and West spiritual traditions, and suggests that triangles comprised of seeker, mediator, and higher power are common in both traditions, regardless of differing views of human nature. A progressive triangle in the therapeutic setting can be seen as a function of teleological transference, in which a seeker’s spiritual aspirations are projected onto a mediator, who provides support and direction for its further realization. The implications of progressive triangulation and teleological transference in contemporary practice are discussed.

Cost: $12 via Paypal

Today Monday, 10 August 10

This course in unrelated to the DreamStar Certification process, but has been designed to assist helping professionals in the application of advanced methods.

This course based on an invited presentation to the Journey to Wholeness Conference, Summit, North Carolina, October, 2008.

This course discusses the dilemma facing a therapist who embraces transpersonal theory, but who must practice within traditional boundaries and ethics. It makes a case for how the two cannot be separated, and can be integrated in responsible and ethical practice.

This course includes a lengthy slideshow with embedded narrative, two supportive papers, a quiz and exit survey. It is estimated to take three hours to complete.

Cost: $18 via Paypal