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IN AN EARLIER PAPER (1982A) I tried to illustrate some specific ways analysts could use themselves so as to facilitate the analytic process. This was in the context of the recognition that the analytic relationship constitutes an interpersonal field. In this presentation I would like to explore some of the affective components of what is required of both patient and analyst to help generate a viable analytic relationship and maximize analytic possibilities. My view is that there are times when the analyst's affective participation is essential. Therefore, in this paper I will try to illustrate some of the circumstances when this could be true, and to clarify some of the subtleties of what this might involve. I will focus on two aspects of the analyst's affective participation clinically. The first involves the use of countertransference affects to clarify the transferential issues; the second has to do with the analyst's affective commitment to establish and maintain a viable, internally consistent, analytic process.
Most of the modern literature on countertransference advises analysts monitor their reactions as a "clue" to better understand the nature of the treatment issues, and as a means of identifying