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This issue brings together a number of ideas about technique in the understanding of dreams brought by children to their analyses, the affects associated with dreaming, and transference phenomena as expressed in dreams. By Givrad we are reminded, as well, that there is as yet little consensus about the nature and function of dreaming over the lifespan, but that neuroscientific findings have led to increased interest in understanding their origin and function. She highlights the potential usefulness of a developmental perspective in clarifying the function of dreams. The authors in this issue provide a rich clinical landscape for the study of emotional meaning across development and over the course of analytic work.
In Anzieu-Premmereur’s article, the analytic work with five-year-old Peter addresses the role of function in the study of dreams. Anzieu-Premmereur, following earlier colleagues, theorizes that the absence of dreaming is a result of defects in the earliest maternal–infant relationship. Her sensitive handling of the mother–child dyad early in the treatment enabled Peter to develop the capacity to dream. Although Anzieu-Premmereur’s report focuses on the role of maternal containment and the function of dreams in psychic life—capacity to symbolize, wish-fulfillment, and representation of trauma—her case report offers a very interesting perspective on technique with this young child. Ferro and Molinari add clarifying thoughts on the various theoretical ideas Anzieu-Premmereur uses to conceptualize the work.
Karush and Schmukler both address the concept of insight as informed by the analysis of dreams in children. Miller, in discussing their articles, comments on the difficulty of studying a single concept in psychoanalysis, because concepts tend to overlap with each other and are seen in the context of a complex relationship. Karush emphasizes the role of transference interpretation as a valuable technique in the promotion of insight and therapeutic action. Giv