Intimacy has rarely been discussed in the psychoanalytic literature, although clinicians recognize that problems with intimacy are universal. In this article, intimacy is defined, and the socio-cultural factors that serve as obstacles to intimate relatedness are discussed. Closely examined are the intrapsychic conflicts that inhibit the development of intimacy, such as a fear of fusion, a fear of object loss, paranoid-schizoid anxieties, and sexual anxieties. Because analysts help to create an environment where problems of intimacy can best be studied, understood, and treated, implications for psychoanalytic treatment are discussed. A clinical example from the author's psychoanalytic practice is offered to illustrate some of the concepts discussed.