Dream, Phantasy and Art

Hanna Segal's work, especially on symbolism, aesthetics, dreams and the exploration of psychotic thinking, has established her as a respected figure in psychoanalysis, particularly in psychoanalysis of the Kleinian tradition. In "Dream, Phantasy and Art" she reworks her ideas on these topics and brings them alive in a new integration which links them afresh to the work of Freud, Klein and Bion. Throughout the book the clinical illustrations she has selected spotlight the theory. In a mutually enhancing relationship, theory and clinical example are combined, and then applied, to create the author's original theories of art and aesthetics. The book begins with Freud's theory of dreams, illustrated by Segal's own clinical material, then moves on to a discussion of the concept of phantasy as used by Freud and Klein, and its relation to dreams and to thinking. This is followed by a discussion of thinking based on Segal's paper, "Notes on Symbol Formation" (1957), which she develops further by linking it with Bion's work. Then comes a discussion of pathological aspects of dreaming that occur when symbolic thinking fails. Finally, in the last two chapters, Segal returns to one of her earl

"... this book, which along with the many other contributions Hanna Segal has made to psychoanalysis in the course of a long and productive professional life, will stand as a further testament to her creative capacity."- Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Vol 3, Vol LXII

Hanna Segal is a former President of the British Psychoanalytical Society and a founder member of the Melanie Klein Turst. She has helf many positions in the British Psychoanalytical Society and the International Psychoanalytical Association.