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This book will provide the reader, not with new wine in an old bottle, but wine that has been stirred, shaken, and then lovingly mulled. The book is timely in that psychoanalysis has, as a treatment modality, gradually expanded its scope to include the treatment of patients with primitive forms of character pathology Meissner has devoted much of his energy to working with and understanding this group of patients (Meissner 1978, ), and this is reflected in this book.
Part one of the book considers the nature of the therapeutic alliance Here Meissner expresses the opinion that much of the controversy surrounding the therapeutic alliance stems from the original formulations of Zetzel and Greenson. He considers the therapeutic relationship to comprise therapeutic alliance, transference, and real relationship occurring simultaneously but conceptually distinguishable from one another.
In distinguishing between alliance and transference he sees an inverse proportion, with alliance diminishing as transference predominates, with either