The author attempts to conceptualize the interactional structure of the analytic process with special regard to the level of the basic fault (Balint). The potential space (Winnicott) is understood as an important curative factor. It is the primary task of the analyst to create and maintain this space for the patient in the service of the development of the self. The demands that this task entails for the analyst, the analyst's possible faults, and the effects of this space on the patient are discussed. The potential space makes it possible for the patient to: (1) bring his or her true self into contact and interaction with the analyst, and accordingly to work through traumatic experiences of early childhood; and (2) strengthen existing self-structures and build up new ones in accordance with the true self. To protect the analyst from regression, three factors prove especially important: (1) a solid self-regulation; (2) an intersubjectively founded developmental theory; and (3) an empathic attitude.