A risk of confidentiality

The concept of confidentiality is examined from its absolute position espoused by some psychoanalysts to the many exceptions to this position allowed by others. The suggestion made in this paper is offered as a psychoanalytic one which urges us to see confidentiality as posing risks in both positions, that is, the absolute and the necessary exceptions. Confidentiality is representative of many, if not all, of the rules and methods that are implicit in the conduct of an analysis and thus may well be taken for granted. The suggestion offered is for a periodic re-examination of the implicit background of psychoanalysis.