Stressing the power of the metaphor in Sandor Ferenczi's writing, Giselle Galdi illuminated the ways in which his contributions to the world of psychoanalysis bear incredible relevance to the issues of transference and countertransference. Central to her presentation was the metaphor “terrorism of suffering,” which was interpreted from the perspective of both the traumatized patient and the analyst to whom the terrors are revealed. Such a perspective stresses Ferenczi's pioneering beliefs about the emotional vacillations that occur within the very interpersonal domain of analytic work.

Galdi, in her introductory description of the Ferenczian era, spoke of the profoundly important relationship that existed between Ferenczi and Freud. This ultimately ended when popular, that is, classical, beliefs were being threatened and challenged by Ferenczi's conviction about the two-person, as opposed to a one-person,