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My paper (Garma, 1974) describes a triad of resistances which increase in intensity during the final stages of treatment. Possibly the point has not been made with sufficient clarity in my paper, but I wish to take this opportunity to underline the convenience of repeated interpretation in analytical sessions, in accordance with the associated material of the analysand, of each of these three distinct resistances—without giving preference to any one of them.
I feel that 'fear of retaliation' is one of the forms in which the superego manifests its resistance to the patient's increasing improvement. As Dr Casuso (1974) points out, this improvement ultimately signifies the attaining of true genitality in all its aspects.
The other important point made by Dr Casuso is that of the countertransference reaction of the analyst who, in the final stages of the treatment, perceives his analysand as a potential rival, as a 'young buck' who could finally outshine him. It is a psychological reaction similar to that of Jehovah who, in the Genesis-story of the 'Garden of Eden', feared that Adam and Eve would become immortals as himself if they ate of the fruit of the tree of life. To eat of the fruit of the tree of life would appear to symbolize the attaining of genitality.
The above mentioned countertransference reaction—fear of being surpassed—is found regularly in the analyst in the final stages of treatment, independent of the sex of the analysand. It is most advisable that it be consciously perceived by the analyst and submitted to self-analysis. The results thus obtained contribute to the understanding of the unconscious psychism of the analysand.
The foregoing leads us to the following conclusion. When the analyst, in countertransference, fears his analysand as a rival capable of outstripping him, even in his genitality, we must necessarily presume that at that moment a persecutory superego, active in the analysand, is transferred to the analyst. Furthermore, this supere