In this series, there is an identification with his patient Mr Jones in realising that he too has something of an attachment issue with his own mother in which it has been difficult to separate from her. This difficulty separating from mother may be shown in the dream in which he has difficulty in letting go of the breast symbolising a feeding relationship with mother.

This inability to let go or separate from mother is symbolised in mother giving him the milk still as a man who is evidently middle-aged. I refer to this dynamic, the silent, hidden or mute attachment to mother as Keeping Mum.

There is an important point to do with what one can learn from reading and from understanding through using intellect and the limits of this.

The value of being emotionally engaged helps in using one’s own emotional experience. This is emphasised in this illustration that reading and intellect need to be complemented through learning from experience, including our own experiences and dreams. This is learning from listening to the patient and what the patient evokes in us, not just what we read in textbooks or journals.