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Joining is a powerful technique for resolving narcissistic resistance in psychoanalytic therapy. Its very power, however, calls for prudence in determining when and how to apply it. In the hands of the uninitiated, and used without reference to the larger maturational purpose which it aims to advance, joining, especially in its dystonic form, may subserve analytic aggrandizement against the patient; at worst, it may destroy the analysis. In this spirit, Spotnitz (1976) warns against using the joining technique as “a gimmick, a device that can be flicked on mechanically” (p. 42), and Nelson and Nelson (1957) similarly advise against “shotgun” application (p. 12).
The nucleus of therapy with the preoedipal patient is in the transference-countertransference relationship, reflected in the patient's evolving feelings toward the analyst and the latter's perception of the process through the medium of his own induced feelings. Generally speaking, technical skills such as joining come into perspective only as they further the objectives of a comprehensive therapeutic design associated with the patient-analyst relationship. The joining technique, powerful as it is, has no intrinsic significance. It is means to an end. Its value derives wholly from its role as handmaiden of a clinical method. If, therefore, we elect to study its many uses in treatment and to trace the sources of its effectiveness, we do so only in order to clarify how modern analysis goes about its pursuit of larger analytic goals.