In this paper I argue that the original Freudian concept of transference as an obstacle against the work of analysis is still valid if applied to specific types of transference manifestations. After outlining the theoretical development of the concept of transference from Freud's time to the present, and briefly discussing the notion of resistance, I will present clinical material from patients who develop paranoid transferences during the course of treatment. I hope to demonstrate how one of the functions of this type of transference is to stifle analytic work and to engage the analyst in an unproductive and sterile interaction.