Our pioneering effort to bring the concept of power into the mainstream of psychoanalytic inquiry has led to contributions diverse in subject and formulation. Nonetheless, when the papers are viewed as a whole, a predominant theme emerges: current psychoanalytic reliance on theories of aggression and sadism, on anxiety and defense, are inadequate to deal with the causality and phenomenology of power. A psychoanalytic study of power requires a comprehensive consideration of ego functions (Loewenberg), deficits in self and ego regulation (Grotstein and Person), interaction (Gediman), and the consolidation of sexual identity (Adams-Silvan and Silvan). In an earlier issue Meissner (1985) stated that, despite criticisms and proposed alternatives, traditional metapsychology offers the greatest promise for the assimilation of complete intrapsychic and interactional viewpoints. Detailed analytic study of concepts like power that bridge these points of view provide a challenging test for Meissner's hypothesis.