Harvard psychologist to discuss dreams, innovation at Education Foundation program

Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist on the Harvard Medical School faculty known for her research on dreams and hypnosis, will return to her hometown to speak on “Dreams and Innovation” on Friday, April 26, in Oak Ridge.

Barrett is the featured speaker at the “Dreams and Innovation” program hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation to honor teachers who have received the Foundation’s 2013 grant awards, beginning at 5 p.m. at New Hope Center.

The free event is open to the public, and no reservations are required.

Barrett is an Oak Ridge High School graduate, and she will describe how dreams contribute to innovation and problem solving, relating research from her book, “The Committee of Sleep.” The book is subtitled “How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Dreams for Creative Problem-Solving—How You Can Too.”

Barrett, who has a doctorate in psychology in the Behavioral Medicine Program at Harvard Medical School, is past president of both the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the American Psychological Association’s Div. 30, The Society for Psychological Hypnosis. She has written four books and is the author of many academic articles and chapters on health, hypnosis, and dreams.

The event will include booths and demonstrations by past grant award winners, showing how teachers have used grants from the Education Foundation and how students have benefitted. The ORHS JazzKats will entertain, and appetizers will be served.

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is providing support and rewarding Oak Ridge teachers through its annual Grants Program. Since 2005, the Education Foundation’s annual competitive Grants Program has awarded $322,000 in grants to more than 100 teachers, with some grants funding programs or equipment in multiple classrooms.

The Education Foundation’s current campaign, “Making the Critical Difference,” intends to raise $500,000 for grant awards of $100,000 each year for five years to teachers in Oak Ridge public schools.

After her presentation, Barrett will be available to answer questions and to sign her books. Barrett’s book, “Supernormal Stimuli—How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose,” and the paperback edition of “The Committee of Sleep” were published in 2010. She is the editor of four additional books, including “The New Science of Dreaming,” a set of books in which experts in the field present research and findings related to biology and psychology of dreaming, and “Trauma and Dreams.”

She has been featured on “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” CNN, Fox, PBS, The Discovery Channel, and the BBC, giving commentary on psychological issues. During the publicity about the dream-themed film “Inception,” Barrett was interviewed by many media outlets. She has been the subject of interviews about dreams for articles in The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Life, Time, and Newsweek. Her own articles have appeared in Psychology Today and Invention and Technology. Barrett has lectured at Esalen, the Smithsonian, and at universities around the world.

Barrett describes dreaming as simply “thinking in different biochemical state” and believes people continue to work on problems, both personal and objective, in that state.

Known for her work on dreams and their contributions to creativity and objective problem solving, Barrett has interviewed modern artists and scientists about their use of dreams, hearing that ideas resulting in some Nobel Prizes and MacArthur “genius grants” originated in dreams.

Her research has also been focused on helping people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, depression and dissociative disorders.

Those interested in learning more about the “Making the Critical Difference” campaign or in making a donation in support of the Education Foundation’s Grants Program may call (865) 241-3667 or contact Lila Metcalf, the Foundation Executive Director, at [email protected].