First psychoanalytic consultations are not merely the prelude to therapy but a precious moment in which an emotional encounter can begin to effect transformation from the very outset. Both Winnicott and Bion have underscored the creative potential of this early phase of the analytic process. Winnicott explored its aesthetic dimension, particularly through the squiggle game, and extended his view to the family as a complex system in which transformative resources emerge through collaboration within the small group.

Bion invited us to attend to the role of intuition and aesthetic experience as vital forces in transformation — beginning with the first consultations and continuing throughout the analytic process.

In the co-construction of the setting, patient and analyst may encounter unconscious factors — Bion's wild thoughts — entering the scene through enacted and unspoken communication. The speed with which these emerge, and the absence of an established relationship, call for the intuition and creativity of both partners to find a shared point of contact that can sustain the analytic work.

This point of contact calls for a personalised setting and the relinquishing of rigid, pre-established frameworks. As in the Bob Dylan song to which the title alludes, the anguish of a looming war can be transformed into a moment of constructive hope.