About Nicoline

Nicoline Douwes Isema is a dream expert and sleep activist based in the Netherlands. She’s on a mission to show everyone that sleeping is a productive state of mind.

Nicoline helps her clients to use their unconscious intelligence as source for new ideas and inspiration. And to figure out what their weird dreams mean, too. 

Hi there!

For the past twenty years, I have been focused on dreams.

In a world where resting almost becomes an act of defiance, where ‘pulling an all-nighter’ is glorified, dreams seem easy to dismiss. I say: hang on, let’s explore them first.

I advocate for dreams through speaking engagements, workshops, and 1:1 dream analysis. But most of all, I want to help you make use of your dreaming brain in your everyday life.

Ask me
🔸how sleeping in makes you smarter
🔸how to wake up with new ideas
🔸how to mine insights from dreams

Why I love dreams

Dreams and nightmares have always been endlessly fascinating to me. After four years of art school, three years of studying European History, and training and working as a coach, I finally caved. I made dreaming my profession.

Among many things, I love dreaming for the inspiration it can bring. The weirdness, the potential for innovative thinking, a chance to deeply explore our feelings. A space to spark ideas that our minds can’t reach when we’re awake.

What I do

Through my work, I try to create a sense of dream literacy in all of us. I help creatives find new inspiration, innovators new ideas, and people who are stuck on a problem find out how they really feel about it, deep down.

In short, I teach people to understand their own dreams.

Call me for

• 1:1 dream analysis
• Workshops & trainings
• Keynotes & talks

Dream Research Translator

Yes, I am that person who reads dream research for fun, and can’t stop talking about it. When I read a mind-blowing fact, I want to tell the world.

I spoke about the sleeping brain on international stages, radio, and TV. Also in magazines, newspapers… too many to count. I will stop bragging.

For the Dutch audience, I wrote a book on how to interpret your own dreams: Wat heb jij gedroomd vannacht? De kracht van denken in je slaap (Scriptum, 2011)

Dream Analysis Method

Having trained in different ways of working with dreams, I find that I love the Dream Interview Method. In this technique, developed by psychologist Dr Gayle Delaney, your personal associations and ideas about your dream take the lead. Your dreams are unique to your situation. Added to this, I use coaching skills like focusing, deep listening, and reflective feedback.

We explore images, actions, feelings, and connect them to your daily life. Even dreams that seem silly (or scary) often end up sparking intelligent insights, profound truths, or a wonderful idea.

Forget about dream dictionaries – I want to find out what your mind has to say.

Work With Me

Curious about working together? Want to book a personal dream analysis? Drop me an email!

Dream Ethics

As a former committee chair at the International Association for the Study of Dreams, I adhere to their Dreamwork Ethics Statement.

The main takeaways:

• Dreams are highly personal. No book, guru, website, or chatbot can know what your dream means. Don’t let anyone tell you they know your mind, not even me. I will help you explore your dream, so you can find your own personal interpretation.
• Everyone brings their own cultural viewpoint to a dream analysis. I promise to listen with respect, and create a space where we learn from your dream.
• Your dreams are private, yours and yours alone. I will never talk about your dream with a third party unless you give me explicit permission.

Coach, not a therapist
Bilingual 🇳🇱 🇺🇸
Living in The Netherlands, working worldwide.