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Presenter: The patient lay down on the couch and started to talk. “Mrs J is the owner of the house where I live. She is eighty-eight years old. I dreamt that she was walking along the road, talking about the rental agreement.” Then she started shouting, “What are you doing there behind me? Tell me immediately. You are a dishonest liar!” This took me by surprise.
Bion: I wonder what the difficulty is. If she knows that you are a dishonest liar, then obviously you would be telling lies behind her back. At the same time, why ask you what you are doing behind her back? Presumably you will only tell her more lies. Alternatively, is she afraid that you do not tell lies? If she thinks there is a chance that you speak the truth, that would explain why she asks you what you are doing. To put it another way: there is something wrong with this story; either the patient is lying, or she is slandering the analyst. Otherwise why should she spend her time with a dishonest liar?
P: I said, “I am listening.” She replied, “Yes, that's important.” She calmed down and continued describing her dream.
B: That is a very interesting sequel. Notice that the analyst didn't start an argument about whether or not he is a liar; he didn't get up and leave the room; he didn't lose his temper. The effect on the patient seems to have been quite helpful. It is not a cure, but a little bit of a cure; it is enough of a cure to make another minute or two possible. Not only does it matter what you say or do; it also matters what you do not say or do.
P: She continued to describe her dream: “Mrs J wanted to come into the house and look it over. There was a portrait of a nude in one of the rooms and I knew that she would not like that. So I tried to
stop her coming into the house, but I couldn't. In the kitchen there were two blood-stained garments.”
B: The patient said this was a dream. Did you believe her? It sounds very likely that she wanted to stop you from seeing what was in her mind, leaving her feel