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Freud's principles of technique derive from clinical observation and remain the basis for analytic therapy. But his theoretical formulations and those of his early co-workers concerning technique and therapy were continuously subject to re-examination. Freud expected improvements in analytic technique and expressed 'the hope that advances in the experience of psychoanalysts will soon lead to agreement upon the most expedient technique …' (9, p. 333). This problem of correlation of theory and technique has become vital at the present time when new hypotheses, new theories are being proposed. New theoretical orientations call for new technical approaches.
Theoretical orientation undoubtedly influences the clinical approach and technique of the individual analyst. But we find different interpretations of the same phenomenon by different analysts. Variation in technique has its usefulness, but variation from analyst to analyst must be appraised and evaluated with a sound understanding of the theoretical basis for such technical innovations, deviations, or maneuvers.
In 1919 Freud wrote 'we have never been proud of the fullness and finality of our knowledge and our capacity; as at the beginning, we are ready now to admit the incompleteness of our understanding, to learn new things, and to alter our methods in any way that yields better results' (11, p. 392).
Though we still observe basic rules and fundamental procedures, therapy and theory change under the impact of continuing scientific contributions. Progress in theory often comes about as a result of therapeutic progress. Technique is still ahead of theory, and one cannot correlate a comprehensive theoretical