Analysis becomes interminable when the patient is intrinsically incurable or when technical errors have occurred. For example, the analysand may find in the transference excessive satisfaction of instinctual tendencies, in some instances because of the analyst's unconscious need to 'feed' him in this way. Moreover,

any departure in the first stage of analysis from strict neutrality, even to the extent of wanting to cure the patient, 'must be curbed', as it may arouse opposition from the patient who is unready to surrender his neurosis. But when much of the preliminary work has been completed, it is essential for the analyst to orient the analysand toward reality, to treat him as a fellow adult, to steer him away from preoccupation with the transference neurosis, and to stimulate him to act on what he has learned. Nacht sees the analyst's kindness and love as the essential point in enabling patients to surrender the neurosis. 'The rest', he believes, 'is only secondary'.