Some reflections on analytic listening and the dream screen

Pertinent data is presented from the analysis of a young schizoid patient who had an impression of not having dreamed for many years. The author suggests, in the line with Bion's work, that the most basic aspect of analytic listening is analogous to maternal capacity to receive and elaborate early infantile psychic communications, essentially projective identification of anxiety situations, overwhelming feelings(positive and negative), and psychic distress from her baby. At the earliest level, this maternal capacity is represented concretely by the maternal breast and its internal space, soon linked in the baby's mind with the maternal face surface and head (to become mental) space. It is felt that the introjection of the breast in this perspective gives richer and more dynamic meaning to Lewin's concept of the dream screen as representing the internalized breast. Certain areas of agreement between the author's conclusions with this and other patients and the important French work by Fain & David on the functional aspects of dream life, as well as that of Kanzer on the communicative function of dreams, are indicated.