The aim of this paper is to ascertain the nature of the analyst's experiences in the treatment situation. Emphasis is not laid upon the problem of undesirable counter-transference, but upon revealing the irreducible and unavoidable satisfactions which constitute the 'realistic' counterpart in the analyst of the experiences of the analysand. Szasz notes that while the literature abounds in references to those aspects of the analyst's behaviour which might impede the analytical work there are few which are relevant to the theme of this paper. He singles out papers by Sharpe (1930), (1947), Low (1935) and by A. and M. Balint (1939) which make a point of underlining the gratifications which the analyst derives from his work which are neither 'altruistic' nor based on counter-transference.