About

NANCY GERSHMAN, LMSW is a psychotherapist and the developer of Dreamscaping, an imaginal and photo-based approach to treating grief and loss, supported by the way memories get encoded in the brain.  More playful than painful, Dreamscaping uses resourcing, focusing on felt sense, re-scripting and mental simulations to shift the focus from “what do you miss?” to “what gives you joy?” After a decade of dreamscaping with the bereaved as a memory artist, Nancy was featured for her work with end of life families at VNSNY/Haven Hospice as NY1’s “New Yorker of the Week” (2016).  In 2020, Routledge published Prescriptive Memories in Grief and Loss: The Art of Dreamscaping, co-authored with Barbara E. Thompson. Additional publications include case studies in Robert A. Neimeyer’s Techniques of Grief Therapy (Routledge, 2012, 2016) and Annals of American Psychotherapy (2010) with Jenna Baddeley, PhD. In addition to presenting her work internationally and working in a supervisory capacity, Nancy has been the host of Death Café New York City since 2013.  Today, applications for dreamscaping range from liberating joy in those married to ED (eating disorders) and other addictive behaviors, to re-gendering individuals in the trans community, and reinstalling joyful memories in those once overwhelmed by grief and loss.