The notion of dreams and beliefs about them differ considerably across cultures. In certain societies, dreams are generally considered to be unreal figments irrelevant to the important concerns of daily life. In other cultures people treat dreams as important sources of information about the future, the spiritual world or oneself. In some, dreams are considered to be a space for action like waking life, or a means for communication with other people or with the supernatural.

According to Waud H. Kracke, how dreams are dealt within different cultures may be examined from four perspectives: beliefs people hold about the nature of dreaming; conventional systems by which people interpret particular dreams; the social context in which dreams are shared (or not shared) and discussed; and the ways in which dreams are used in practice, especially in curing. In addition, dreams can be interpreted psychodynamically, as expressing the dreamer’s inner wishes, fears and conflicts. Furthermore, scholars and clinicians have refined different forms of dreamworking, especially in groups, in order to appreciate the benefits that the attention to dreams may bring about in the life of individuals and communities.