Right at the beginning of his work, Freud was interested in perception, particularly in the schema of the letter dated Dec 6, 1896 (Letter 52) featuring the “indications of perception”. Then, at the end of his life, in one of his last texts, Moses and Monotheism, he introduced the notion of traces with “negative effects” of early childhood traumas. Bringing these two notions into closer proximity opens up new perspectives for the practitioner today. The author introduces the French term “perceptif” to describe the field of this new approach which makes possible the recognition of “indications of perception” and traces “with negative effects” of early childhood traumas that are not otherwise accessible to the patient's consciousness. The analytic method thus benefits from an extension of its field permitting, it is to be hoped, better treatment for so-called “borderline” patients.