Beginning with Jones, analysts have considered only the pathological aspect of symbol formation. This focus is too narrow, according to Deri, and separates analysis from the disciplines of developmental psychology, philosophy, and aesthetics. Using a wider view, she examines the formal structure of the dynamics of symbolization—the method by which mental structures necessary for mental energy transformation and delay are formed. Symbols are a bridge between different, disparate regions of the mind, bringing order out of chaos by establishing delineated structures.

Deri attempts to understand the "Rat Man's" speech as a distortion of the normal symbolic process. The "Rat Man's" problems stem from 1) early sexual stimulation, 2) fixation at the level of infantile omnipotence, 3) intense and defused sadistic impulses, and 4) limited object libido. She concludes, "The pathological intensity