ABSTRACT
This chapter presents psychoanalytic work with dreams in terms of the concepts of “Known, Unknown, Being Known and Learning to Know.” Changing the “unknown” to the “known” and the relational process that enables this exploration is one of the most important factors in psychoanalytic work. Clinical examples from the relational and object relations perspectives are used to illustrate this process of change. “Being known” is formulated in terms of transference and countertransference, which is explored both in the figures in the dream material and in the actual interactions between analyst and patient working with dreams. “Learning to know” is explored in terms of how the patient learns to think in a psychoanalytic framework when working with dreams and thereby developing a “psychoanalytic mind.” Dreams are helpful vehicles for developing this flexible way of thinking, as dream material can allow for more “play” and less value judgments than actual reported interactions. Clinical examples are offered to illustrate these points. The exploration of the dream material is considered in terms of the relational process, leading to the patient being more curious and developing new self systems.
