The negative therapeutic motivation is an unconscious wish to go into analysis or therapy in order to make the analyst fail. This motivation is part of every treatment, regardless of degree or type of pathology. The phenomenon is, however, more visible in certain types of patients, such as those with severe masochistic disturbances, and at certain ages, such as adolescence. Material from several cases, especially suicidal adolescent cases, is used to illustrate the patient's need to make the analyst fail in order to maintain an idealized image of a loving, loved, and omnipotent mother. The defensive need to maintain the illusion of a purified pleasure dyad and the inability of both patient and mother to move beyond the stage of dyadic omnipotence underlie the negative therapeutic motivation. The analyst's omnipotence fantasies and interpretive zeal can interact with the patient's need to make him fail, producing a negative therapeutic alliance.