In his remarkably rich paper, Fosshage makes several contributions: first, the elaboration of his perspective, which he introduced recently (Fosshage, 1995a) on a dual mode of analytic listening; second, how this mode of listening facilitates the analyst's optimal responsiveness to the patient; third, the enrichment of our appreciation of the theoretical relevance and clinical utility of the optimal responsiveness concept; and fourth, with Uchtenberg and Lachmann, the further elucidation of its goals. Fifth, Fosshage proposes a particular spectrum as a guide to listening that implies a modification of certain guidelines for the analyst's