A case report in which the patient idealized her analyst is used to explicate a two-step process: first, introjection, defined as a replication in fantasy of relations with a real object, i.e., the analyst; then identification, in which aspects of the introjected object are taken over as part of the self. The need to permit idealization of the analyst for this purpose, rather than to interfere with idealization by "reality testing," is emphasized. Deferred imitation refers to the repetition of perceived interchanges with the analyst post-facto outside the hours. Deferred imitation is an important manifestation of introjection.