A Clinical Focus on Feeling in Dreams1

This article, a posthumous presentation of a work in progress of Walter Bonime, one of the maverick thinkers of psychoanalysis of the 20th century, gives us a clear picture of a step-by-step use of feelings in dreams to facilitate the working through process in psychoanalysis. Through a series of dreams occurring during a finite period of the working through process the author shows us how he utilizes the feelings in the dreams to facilitate associations. By connecting past dreams with the actual one being discussed plus writing about his own associations to present and past dreams, while using confrontation and clarification Bonime gives us a clear picture of his day-to-day creative process of collaboration with his patient. As an incomplete work, still in its draft form, this article has the richness of a work in progress. It allows us a clear view of the work of a seasoned, innovative, engaged, and committed analyst with a patient through time, work mainly anchored in his deep understanding of the human psyche, his creative use of dreams, and his commitment to helping the other evolve into his/her best sense of self.