Jesse Lyon MS, CCHt, QS, LMHC
Dream Interpreter and Clinical Hypnotherapist
Jesse Lyon is a licensed counselor, dream interpreter and clinical hypnotherapist based in Orlando, FL. With over a decade of experience, Jesse has an extensive background in complex trauma, anxiety, dissociative disorders, and the neurodivergent community. In 2017, he launched his private practice, Lyon Counseling LLC, where he bridges the gap between modern culture and empathetic mental health. Jesse is a passionate educator and viral social media influencer with over 2.5 million TikTok followers @LyonMentalHealth, where he shares insights on the subconscious mind, dream interpretation, and more. He is also the cofounder of Trauma Focused Hypnotherapy, a hypnotherapy practice that offers in-person trainings with clients, plus online courses and other educational resources. He previously worked as one of the founders and Chief Dream Scientist at the DreamApp Ltd. Jesse graduated with a BA in Psychology from Thomas Edison State University, and with a Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology from Palm Beach
Education
- MS, Counseling Psychology, Palm Beach Atlantic University
- BA, Psychology, Thomas Edison State College
Professional Achievements
- Nationally recognized Licensed Mental Health Counselor, trauma hypnotherapist, and pioneering educator dedicated to revolutionizing the way we understand the subconscious mind
- Co-founder of Trauma Focused Hypnotherapy
- A viral voice for mental wellness and dream interpretation on TikTok and other platforms, with a global following of over 2.4 million
- Had high-profile features and interviews in The New York Times, Verywell Mind, Bustle, Elite Daily, and PureWow, among others
- Has spoken at international conferences including the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), Spooky Empire, Megacon Orlando, and the Health 2.0 Conference, Las Vegas—where he was honored with the Outstanding Leadership Award
- Featured as a guest expert on The Jenny McCarthy Show, Psych Talk Podcast, and multiple television networks, including NBC’s WESH 2 and CBS’s WKMG News 6
Certifications & Organizations
- Qualified Supervisor
- Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist graduated from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in California
- Member and presenter for the International Association for the Study of Dreams
Favorite Piece of Advice
Your mind is not against you, it's just misunderstood.
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Forum Comments (5)
I had a dream where my teeth fell out. What does it mean?
Losing teeth is a very classic anxiety-fueled dream topic, just broadly speaking. A specific interpretation that I find very effective is, if you think about teeth, they're the part of our body that helps us break down our food into bite-sized pieces for us to digest. Metaphorically, losing teeth means that I don't feel like I can take a bite out of life's problems. They're too big for me to deal with. The strength of my capacity to break down these issues into manageable pieces is being threatened, so I'm anxious.
I've also seen teeth falling out as a fear of aging. We lose our teeth as we get older. That anxiety about not being able to handle life could more specifically be about, “Well, I feel like I can't handle life because I'm feeling too old to get out of bed in the morning". There are many different directions that teeth dreams could go, but those are some immediate ideas that come to mind for me.
I've also seen teeth falling out as a fear of aging. We lose our teeth as we get older. That anxiety about not being able to handle life could more specifically be about, “Well, I feel like I can't handle life because I'm feeling too old to get out of bed in the morning". There are many different directions that teeth dreams could go, but those are some immediate ideas that come to mind for me.
What does it mean when a snake appears in my dream?
Snakes are great, and probably one of the most common motifs in dreams. Many humans feel connection with snakes; that's why you see them in so much religious literature. On the light side of things, snakes shed their skin. They were long thought to be immortal. Snakes can be a huge transformational symbol of change. Think of ideas like “it's time to shed my skin of who I was and be reborn.” If you think of snakes in Greek mythology, a snake twined around the staff of Ascropolis, the God of healing, and provided medicine for the people. It can be a huge healing and transformational symbol.
On the darker side of things, snakes can represent deception, like if you think about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. For example, a black snake coming across your path in a dream can be a sign that there's something deceiving happening. Maybe some big change is about to take place where a deception will be revealed. You need to be ready for that change. Snakes hiding in grass, snakes biting you, or other interactions with snakes in your dream can elicit the question of, “What is poisoning my life right now?” So, like many areas in dreams, there can be a light side and a shadow side.
On the darker side of things, snakes can represent deception, like if you think about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. For example, a black snake coming across your path in a dream can be a sign that there's something deceiving happening. Maybe some big change is about to take place where a deception will be revealed. You need to be ready for that change. Snakes hiding in grass, snakes biting you, or other interactions with snakes in your dream can elicit the question of, “What is poisoning my life right now?” So, like many areas in dreams, there can be a light side and a shadow side.
Why am I dreaming of my ex so much?
There's a light side and a shadow side to that. The light side of dreaming about the ex is, “Thank God that our mind remembers our exes so we can be sure not to repeat the mistakes.” If I dated a terribly abusive, narcissistic person who made my life terrible, my mind's going to remind me of that as I'm in my present dating era. I can be sure not to date someone like that again. On another side, it can be about reclaiming a lost sense of self. It's like, “I lost a little bit of my heart in that relationship.” And that person keeps popping up because my subconscious is like, “Hey, don't lose that piece of you. Hey, we still have unfinished baggage from that relationship.” Anytime you see a repeating dream, it symbolizes that there's a problem you haven't solved yet or a situation in your life that you haven't successfully navigated yet.
And your mind will repeat that dream until you solve it. that's the principle of PTSD dreams that I deal with in my practice. We're going to keep having those PTSD nightmares until we heal from the trauma.
What does it mean if I keep dreaming about someone?
If you keep dreaming about someone, there's likely to be an unresolved problem with them. That unresolved problem could be, “I just want to be closer with them.” For example, when we have a crush on somebody, we might dream about them all the time. And the only "problem", so to speak, with them is “I want to spend more time with them.” So, my mind is rewarding me and giving me my desire by allowing me to dream about spending time with them. To put it very simply, dreaming about them is communicating to you, “My mind is trying to connect with an idea that they represent”.
I want to start lucid dreaming. Any good beginner methods?
There's a lot of great techniques to lucid dream that can work with different personality styles and dreaming styles.
First, figure out what your "dream personality" is . Some people are very vivid and visual dreamers Some people are very fantastical in the topics they dream about; think unicorns, fairies and the like. Other people are very literal, and dream about things like going to work.
Second, establish a baseline pattern in what you dream about and then notice changes from that pattern. If I've got a collection of dreams, and my dreams usually look this way, but then one dream looks different, that's clinically significant for me as a mental health counselor and a healthcare practitioner. If you get into a consistent habit of trying to remember your dreams and practicing lucidity, both in the dream space and throughout your day, that's going to be really important. It's all about consistency and intention.
Third, the most effective technique I've ever seen is what's called reality testing. Reality testing is getting your mind into the mindset of asking, “Am I in a dream right now?” There are a lot of ways to do this. Some people will close their mouth, hold their nose and try and breathe. And if I can breathe while my mouth is closed, my nose is closed, I'm dreaming, because you can't breathe while your mouth is closed, your nose is closed. I know other people who will press on walls with the full expectation that their hand will go through the wall. And if their hand doesn't go through the wall, then they can think “Well, I can be pretty certain that this is waking reality, not dream reality.” Testing reality and consistency with intention are the two most effective strategies.
First, figure out what your "dream personality" is . Some people are very vivid and visual dreamers Some people are very fantastical in the topics they dream about; think unicorns, fairies and the like. Other people are very literal, and dream about things like going to work.
Second, establish a baseline pattern in what you dream about and then notice changes from that pattern. If I've got a collection of dreams, and my dreams usually look this way, but then one dream looks different, that's clinically significant for me as a mental health counselor and a healthcare practitioner. If you get into a consistent habit of trying to remember your dreams and practicing lucidity, both in the dream space and throughout your day, that's going to be really important. It's all about consistency and intention.
Third, the most effective technique I've ever seen is what's called reality testing. Reality testing is getting your mind into the mindset of asking, “Am I in a dream right now?” There are a lot of ways to do this. Some people will close their mouth, hold their nose and try and breathe. And if I can breathe while my mouth is closed, my nose is closed, I'm dreaming, because you can't breathe while your mouth is closed, your nose is closed. I know other people who will press on walls with the full expectation that their hand will go through the wall. And if their hand doesn't go through the wall, then they can think “Well, I can be pretty certain that this is waking reality, not dream reality.” Testing reality and consistency with intention are the two most effective strategies.
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