The round table opened with an introductory paper by Martin Grotjahn. He discussed the training analysis as it is actually conducted and experienced, as well as the traditional and theoretical concepts of its function and significance. It was originally conceived as the first of three phases of training, the second being formal instruction, and the third, clinical work. The original and the current avowed goals of the training analysis are not primarily therapy but learning. Grotjahn's main thesis is that "a training analysis under present conditions is different, but should not be different from a therapeutic analysis."