Lotterman selectively reviews the literature about the utility of countertransference, in order to examine the means by which the patient stimulates emotions in the therapist which correspond to those of the patient. This phenomenon, which he calls "emotional induction," occurs with patients who have difficulty conceptualizing their experience. With a series of dramatic examples, Lotterman shows how these patients evoke reactions in the therapist that mirror their own experience. He conceives of them as unconsciously arranging things, as a way of communicating, using means that are analogous to the evocative techniques of the theatre. He recommends that the therapist identify and disclose the relevant emotions induced in himself or herself, as a way to make contact with otherwise inaccessible patients. By deciphering nonverbal messages, the defensive erasing of the patient's inner life may be transformed. This is accomplished by the therapist's demonstrating that intense feelings can be named and tolerated, without requiring action or causing catastrophe.