Similar to other therapies that make use of alternate states of consciousness (e.g. virtual reality, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, hypnosis, neurofeedback), Lucid Dreaming Therapy (LDT) has favorable, idiosyncratic features with the potential to elaborate on empirically-supported treatment models for a range of mental disorders.

The main characteristic that differentiates lucid dreams from typical dreaming is that you explicitly remember that you are in the dream state. This form of memory retrieval while dreaming can increase feelings of safety, psychological flexibility, and purposeful volition in ways that enhance self-regulation and new learning. The evocative realism and exposure to unconscious content makes the lucid state even more promising for improving therapeutic outcomes.

It has been suggested that LDT could be a useful treatment for nightmares, trauma, and other psychological conditions. However, evidence of efficacy is scarce and its rationale in intervention studies thus far has been largely atheoretical. Clinicians have the capacity to play…