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This paper introduces the “Desired Dream” practice, an innovative psychotherapy approach based on narrative therapy. It involves conversations about dream content that individuals want to see and imagine, as distinct from dreams that occur spontaneously during sleep. The practice was designed to be used with people affected by the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. It may be of use when working with people who have been through a traumatic event, whether or not they are experiencing disrupted sleep or distressing dreams. The three-step process elicits participants’ personal and cultural perceptions and knowledges of dreams, then invites them to describe in detail a dream they would like to experience. The final stage explores the meanings and emotions these desired dreams hold. The aim is to create space for people to discover values, hopes and preferred directions in life. This paper describes the application of the Desired Dream practice with 12 participants (four children, four adolescents, four adults) affected by the 2023 earthquakes Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. The practice supported participants in constructing alternative narratives about their lives that contained hopes, values and resilience, rather than trauma-centred narratives. The dreams the participants wanted to see facilitated conversations about their search for meaning in their lives, their longings and their capacity for personal agency. The paper offers a unique approach that contributes to the consideration of dreams not only within a clinical or pathological framework but also within a cultural and relational context.

Key words: dreams; nightmares; sleep; trauma; earthquake; natural disaster; narrative therapy; narrative practice

Demir, M. N., & Dinç, M. (2026). Desired Dreams: Narrative therapy conversations with trauma survivors about the dreams they would like to experience. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 34–46.https://doi.org/10.4320/MFSP8681