The preceding papers reveal an image of the analytic situation far different from that portrayed in the literature of the past. The analyst we have seen is active, engaged, and contributing significantly to the patient's experiences. The analyst is seen as interactive, using herself or himself to assist in orienting, perceiving, and understanding the analytic material. The analyst is not only observer, interpreter, and provider of a new relationship, he or she is a participant in a mutual experience of working through and growth. This modified view of the analyst applies to the supervisory situation as well as to the analytic one.

In his response to the Essays, Jacobs observes that psychoanalysis has been criticized for being impervious to change, yet the current trend of increased attention to the experience of the analyst in the analytic situation strongly contradicts this view. The contents of this issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry further demonstrates Jacobs's observation and points to the vitality and excitement of psychoanalysis today.