Although many clinicians have assumed that classical psychoanalysis can be dangerous in a variety of ways, including the precipitation of a psychotic process, others have felt that this view is grossly exaggerated and may even represent the analyst's fantasies of omnipotence. This issue is of particular interest in an era when psychoanalytic techniques are being used with a much broader range of psychopathology than ever before. The authors collected data from thirty analysts whose patients included twelve per cent diagnosed as borderline. The 'ego strength' of the group was apparently good, and the results showed that the danger of severe decompensation was minimal.