Chapter 2. Transference and Relationship

Introduction

The headings of the sections in this chapter do not correspond exactly to those in the second chapter of Vol. 1, which is a systematic historical treatise on the all-encompassing themes of transference and relationship. As important as it is to illustrate concepts by referring to precise examples, it is just as important not to lose sight of the fact that concepts do not lead lives of their own but rather place emphasis on significant connections in chains of events. It therefore seems logical to consider several examples of transference from the perspective of resistance (see Chap. 4).

In this introduction we will restrict ourselves to a few words about major issues. The initial task in analysis is to create a “helping alliance” (Luborsky 1984); once this has been achieved, the psychoanalytic process is characterized by the interplay between transference and the working alliance (Sect. 2.1). The analyst's contribution toward creating favorable conditions for change is a special object of our interest. It seems obvious that we should choose examples from the initial phase of therapy as it is in this phase that the patient attempts to come to terms with the strange and unsettling situation. The patient's hopes that analysis will help him become better able to cope with the problems in his life are nourished by the experiences he has in the analytic situation.

The interplay of working alliance and transference is described in more detail in Sect. 2.2, and the patient's identification with the psychoanalyst and his functions is illustrated by a detailed example in Sect. 2.4.

The feature specific to the psychoanalytic theory of transference is the revival of past experiences in transference (Sect. 2.3). To live up to its name, the point of this theory must be to find out which earlier, internalized relationship is revived and transferred to the analyst. We therefore speak of father, mother, and sibling transference and mean the ac