The concept of countertransference may have reached a point where it is too broadly defined. This article differentiates the inner states of the analyst, conceptualized as “the analytic instrument,” from his or her behavior in the treatment. It further differentiates between behavior that only hampers an analysis because it permits the transference neurosis to remain intact (simply put, bad therapy) and a different kind of behavior (countertransference proper) that has the potential to destroy an analysis because it seriously damages the transference neurosis.