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Spero's discussion brings up a number of thoughtful points regarding time experience that could not be fully addressed in my article but are well worth further reflection. I am responding to the following questions:
The status of the analytic frame, which Spero thought I regarded as active under special conditions, is in my view a constantly present and active component of the therapeutic alliance;
The salience of the patient's death wish toward his father; The countertransference implications of my use of certain terms like “inexorable,” a term never used in the analysis, may convey deeper unconscious meanings worth considering;
The issue of coercive countertransference enactments is important, but I tend to focus the issue more in terms of the inherent requirements of the therapeutic alliance and the dilemmas created within the alliance (as, e.g., maintaining the frame vs. freedom) rather than as countertransference enactments;
Spero's application of Green's concept of “antitime” raises significant issues related to the quality of time experience, but I question whether the concept fits the time experience of my patient; if antitime can be translated as timelessness there is room for discussion; and finally,
Spero criticizes my compliance with Jake's chronic lateness as if to say I should have been more insistent or set specific limits on Jake's lateness. My handling of the lateness was to my mind less a matter of compliance and more a matter of weighing the risks and gains and trying to strike and maintaining a meaningful balance in the face of the erosion of the analytic situation.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Spero for his thoughtful, penetrating and thought-provoking commentary on my chronically late patient. Whenever one's efforts elicit such a sensitive and probing reflection, the effect can hardly be anything but gratifying. Spero's reflection brings to bear a deconstructive perspective that effectively captures the uncertainty,