The phenomena of fusion (and symbiosis) of analyst and patient and the special countertransference problem arising therefrom have been discussed. It is conceivable that the analyst may unconsciously regard the patient as his phallus, and respond to the loss of the patient as his own castration. Identification of this sort carries the danger of unconsciously aiding and abetting the patient in his narcissistic and exhibitionistic endeavors, while the analyst unconsciously and vicariously enjoys the patient's antics. The defensive counterpart of this would be the analyst playing the phallus to the patient who has so skillfully maneuvered the

analyst into the situation in which he is encouraged to interpret freely as a ventriloquist's dummy.