In this essay I wish to explore the elaboration of dreams and the elaboration of creative activity in treatment as a bridge to the unconscious. Through their createvity, as well as through their dreams, patients attempt to externalise aspects of themselves, and their object representations, as well as the interaction with these objects in their unconscious fantasies.

The elaboration of creative activity is similar to that of dreams. I will illustrate my thesis with material taken from one of my case studies (from my recently published book Canvas of Change: Analysis through the Prism of Creativity, 2012). My patient used her creative impulse to search for her unconscious fantasies and conflicts through her paintings and poems. I will describe the collaborative exploration of the patient's dreams as well as of her artistic works in various phases of the treatment.