This article deals with the topic of physical contact versus affect in the analytic situation. In the 1st section, the topic of touch is examined from the historical, as well as contemporary, perspective. The author raises the hypothesis that direct emotional contact made through the use of a verbal interaction can be experienced as physical touch in the analytic situation. This hypothesis, illustrated by a case study, is explored in the light of contemporary accounts of the importance of actual interactions in psychoanalysis.