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In this paper the author proposes that it is time for the intuitive art which is part of psycho-analytic therapy to be made explicit and thus become available for communication. Psycho-analysis must be converted from an intuitive art to a scientifically orientated procedure. He suggests that this can be done by checking the intuitive inferences which the analyst makes by means of his critical faculties. The confusion which arises from the number of possible interpretations of a given piece of material can be offset by concentrating upon what French terms the 'focal conflict' which occurs in every analytical session.
The focal conflict must be differentiated from the nuclear conflict of the patient's neurosis. The former is generally preconscious. The advantage of interpretation at the level of the focal conflict is that it adds no new factor to complicate the patient's emotional situation and the analyst's picture of it. When the analyst comes to interpret he should predict the outcome and wait for confirmation or otherwise. The analyst must pay attention to the ego aspects of the patient's mental life as well as to the instinctual side. This can be well achieved by concentration upon the focal conflict which is usually taken up with the current life situation. At the same time it makes it possible for interpretations to become the object of study and thus limits the extent to which intuition can operate without control.