This article presents a new view of parallel process. Previous explanations are criticized as being too narrow or as employing excessively complex and operationally untestable conceptualizations, including reifications of metaphors. Our observations indicate that parallel process is a chain reaction that may occur in any interconnected series of interpersonal situations that are structurally and dynamically similiar in significant respects. It is not limited to the supervisory situation. Typically it involves intertwined concerns about authority and dependency, and the participants need to conceal their attempted solutions to those concerns, leading to an interlocking series of parallel transference-countertransference integrations. The best understanding of these processes is achieved when the motivations of all the participants are examined and over-laps in their character structures are identified.