Synopsis: The Enterprise becomes trapped in a rift in space that seems to be causing her crew to be unable to dream.
From a depth psychological perspective, the devastating effects of not being able to dream can literally be seen as this field’s worst nightmare. Depth psychology by definition concerns the study of the unconscious and one very important way in which the unconscious speaks to individuals is through dreams. However, it never occurred to me before that the inability to dream would cause the psychosis that seems to be plaguing the crew of the Enterprise in this episode.
That is, the crew of the Enterprise except for Counsellor Deanna Troi. As a Betazoid she has a special relationship with her unconscious as well as the unconscious of others. In “Night Terrors” it is not the space in which the Enterprise is adrift that keeps her crew from dreaming, it is the unconscious message trying to be sent from another ship trapped in a similar situation on the other side of the rift which they cannot detect. And just as the unconscious speaks in archetypes, this message is also experienced archetypally and symbolically by Troi.
When it is realized that this is a message from another ship, Troi employs a method of “directed dreaming” in order to try to communicate with the other vessel. This seems to be very close to the Jungian concept of active imagination, where one purposely tries to gain access into one’s unconscious. Troi is able to communicate with the ship and working together, the Enterprise and the ship on the other side of the rift free themselves.
Original post created 11 September 2021
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