A dynamic systems theory of emotion is presented and used to reveal the complex emotional interactions that create the emotional experience of the patient and of the analyst and that constitute, shape, and direct the analytic process. Through the analysis of clinical vignettes, the dynamic emotional processes that engender intense relational moments, enactments, stalemates, and resistances between the patient and the analyst, as well as sequences of disruption, repairs, and mutative change, are illustrated. The flow of emotional energy that vitalizes the analytic interaction and influences the meanings attributed to the patient-analyst interaction is delineated and related to the analyst's emotional engagement of the patient and to the central position of this emotional relationship in facilitating therapeutic change.