In Friedman's response to the papers in this issue, he clarifies his arguments. His entrance to analysis is an exploration of how analysts use theory. It is not an exploration of the function of theory in helping us understand the world. It is not an attempt to develop a theory of the analyst. Although he recognizes that the analyst has many motivations that are expressed in the therapeutic situation, like helping patients and making money, these motivations do not define the analytic situation. The fundamental enterprise of psychoanalysis is to create change in a socially awkward and ambiguous situation that invites discomfort.

Although each contributor to the issue has questioned Friedman's fundamental premise of the analyst's use of theory to reduce the stress intrinsic to the analytic situation, each contributor believes that Friedman is one of the important psychoanalytic thinkers of our time. His importance rests in his ability to make us think about the clinical situation in new ways with different words and concepts.