This book presents a detailed account of two analytic case studies examined through the particular viewpoint of creativity.The first part of the book contains a review of the classical and contemporary literature on the source and function of creativity. Creativity is then examined from the perspective of several analytic models - Freudian, Kleinian, and post-Kleinian. The second and third parts of the book present case illustrations that deal with the use of creative activity in analysis. The creative use of biblical stories in the case of David, or the use of paintings and poems in the case of Rachel, portrayed the inner reality of these patients. David's violent and incestuous biblical stories reflected his world of incestuous and destructive wishes towards his primary objects (and towards the therapist in the transference). Rachel's paintings and poems conveyed her unconscious conflicts, depressive fantasies and anxieties, stemming from her fusion with her mother who was a child Holocaust survivor. Working through their relationships with their primary objects and their self perception, as revealed by these creative activities in analysis, facilitated the patients' mourning.

Introduction -- Creativity through the Prism of Analysis -- The source and function of creativity: a review of classical and contemporary literature -- Creativity through the prism of analytic models -- Analysis through the Prism of stories from the Bible -- The case of David -- Stories from the Bible in the light of analytic models -- Analysis through the Prism of Paintings and Poems -- Creative activity in the treatment of the offspring of Holocaust survivors -- The case of Rachel -- From fragmentation to integration -- The role of creative activity in the treatment of Rachel -- The role of the therapist in incorporating the creative process in therapy