The main goal of the current study was to determine the reliability of Garfield’s (1996) dream themes of the deceased in a larger sample of dream data. A total of 76 dreams were collected and scored by two judges to determine inter-rater reliability. It was found that Garfield’s (1996) dream themes as a whole where not reliable. However, based on her previous work and others, eight new dream themes of the deceased were developed. It was found that these themes had acceptable inter-rater reliability. This research is a necessary step forward in dreams in bereavement research.

Addiction can lead to a plethora of health, social and economical problems. Substances are used for mood regulation, and therefore, waking day mood is extremely important during recovery of alcohol and drug addiction. The current study examined the effects of meditation on anxiety and depression levels. All participants were male, and currently in treatment programs or early stages of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Participants were tested for anxiety and depression and were asked to provide a recent dream, prior and post to participating in the intervention. Dreams were scored using Hall and Van de Castle guidelines for scoring imagery. Results are consistent with previous research in that anxiety and depression levels changed over the course of the meditation period. Implications for future research are discussed as well as applications of meditation in clinical and applied practice.