Panel Reports—midwinter Meeting, 1952—I. the Traditional Psychoanalytic Technique and its Variations

Although all the contributors to this symposium concentrated on its main topic—technique—the discussion clearly illustrated a point raised by several participants to the effect that it is impossible to separate technique from the underlying theoretical premises on which it is based. In this discussion, moreover, the theoretical premises coming under review covered a very wide range, including the very cornerstone on which all analytic development has been based—namely, our fundamental conception of the nature of neurosis, various points of view as to the nature of the therapeutic process in analysis, and illustrating how closely such views correlate with our conception of and attitude toward the transference neurosis.

Phyllis Greenacre opened the meeting with a paper described by one of the discussants as containing all the basic facts concerning transference, its utilization, and the value and significance of practical arrangements, which should be imparted to every candidate about to embark on his first control case. This is certainly true. On the other hand, a review of this paper, in the light of the day's discussion, suggests that it is in fact deceptively simple. In the first section, for example, Greenacre describes the essentials of the transference relationship—showing the inevitable resemblance (and of course significant differences) between the transference situation and the mother-child relationship. In so doing, she makes it abundantly clear that she regards the dependent aspects of the transference (regressive though they may be) as integral and unavoidable—and not as an undesirable development which should be minimized.

Following this line of thought, Greenacre's second section, which considers the two main therapeutic methods of utilizing the transference, contains in essence the essential premises underlying most