Some observations are reported in which drowsiness was a symptom of countertransference in the analyst. This proved to be his failure actively to analyse tenacious resistances in the transference of two obsessive-compulsive patients. His passive analytic attitude failed to take into account the need to put into words and present to the patient his negative attitude in the transference. This omission induced in the analyst feelings of powerlessness and discouragement which caused him to become drowsy. Rendering an implied attitude of the patient into an explicit statement provided the impetus whereby the negative aspects of transference and countertransference were dissipated and a favourable motion imparted to the treatment.

(Author's summary).