Good article and very well written.

I know the biggest problem I have is either futurizing or focusing on past mistakes, which of course, can't be undone. I am getting better at this though. Even though my future at this time is uncertain, I'm making a conscience effort to stay focused on each day at a time. My anxiety has lessened as well.

When I was part of a dream group (which has disbanded after one of the leading members died) we used the protocols of Robert Bosnak. We would become the other characters in our dreams, even animals. Perls methods sound very similar. The other group members would facilitate questions to the dreamer, who would reenter the dream. The questions were asked in the here and now, like the dream was taking place in the now. This explains why I tell my dreams in the present tense most of the time.

In literary criticism, when discussing fiction, it's also common to use the present tense.

I think it is related to the idea of suspension of disbelief - you are in the universe of the story (or the dream) and you are observing the plot as it happens.