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This paper is a response to the invitation for clinical accounts by the editors of the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis(Tuckett & Hayley, 1990). That invitation is part of an attempt to search for common ground among psychoanalysts. The report of this case and the author's understanding of it, is an effort to communicate at the level of clinical experience. The author demonstrates how he works psychoanalytically with a particular person. Hopefully, this case reflects his general psychoanalytic work and has some common aspects that will be familiar to other psychoanalysts in their work. This narrative reconstruction of a brief part of an analysis will attempt to show the 'art' of psychoanalysis which is intuitively to blend the analytic, insight-enhancing procedures, with all other non-analytic but therapeutically necessary activities (Greenson, 1967).
The discussion portion of the paper will summarize the psychoanalytic process, the transference and resistance aspects of this treatment. The author will also briefly discuss the theoretical views which are most helpful to him. Psychoanalysis as a reparenting process will be highlighted using material most closely related to the recent work of John Bowlby, as shown in his book, A Secure Base(1988).
A. The Analyst: He was a 47-year-old psychiatrist who graduated from his analytic institute eight years before this treatment began. About half of his clinical practice for the previous five years or more had been doing psychoanalysis on a four or five time weekly basis. At the time this case began, he had four cases in analysis, all at five sessions per week. This information is provided to help orient the reader to the analyst and his experience with psychoanalysis.
P. The Patient: Mrs C was a 40-year-old caucasian woman who, at the time of beginning analysis, had been married for 15 years to her husband, John, who was a significantly older man. The couple had elected not to