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Presenter: This patient originally came for five months and then left on his own initiative because he was suffering from a severe case of obsessive neurosis: it took him so long to wash his hands – an hour – and to take a bath – four hours – that when he arrived for his session there were only five minutes left. A year later he returned and started again. We agreed that if he didn't come for at least half an hour of each session until the end of January, then I could not continue the treatment. He was unable to meet these requirements, so the sessions ended on January 31st. I told him that we could continue when he thought he could manage to arrive in time to have at least half an hour of the session.
The session I would like to present occurred two months after the analysis was interrupted by me. It was possible for me to see him because it was Easter week and I had a free hour.
Bion: I would be doubtful about interrupting the analysis. It seems to me easier to say right at the beginning, “If I have a vacancy I shall want to see you X times a week, and I would like you to conform to my holiday arrangements.” You can say you will expect the patient to pay if he takes time off; you expect the time you make available to be paid for. What the patient does with that time is another matter. This patient could say, “Well, I come regularly; I do the best I can; I come so many times a week – I do everything.” You can agree to make your time available for the time being, but you cannot tell the patient what use to make of it.
M: Isn't there something implicit in the concept of work that both people should work together – actually work?
B: You would think it should be so, but it very often isn't. The background of this could be that the child believes that the parents
must look after it. But in fact they don't – that is why there are children who are abandoned. So I don't think you want to appear to enter into a contract which you cannot in fact keep. You can try, if you get s