The roots of the relation between psychoanalytic theory and clinical practice are obscured by preconceptions as old as psychoanalysis. Now, the diversity of contemporary theory compels us to revise our view of their relation. This article asserts that an analyst's concurrent participation in the parallel discourses of theory and practice makes clinical work possible. Two other elements in the new perspective are discussed: Theory imposes prohibitions, and clinical process occurs in a framework of dualistic temporality. Despite their apparently esoteric aspect, these concepts belong to a prevailing but hitherto unformulated conception of how theory shapes clinical practice.