Parameters and the analytic process: a contribution to the theory of the "mature transference"

This case presentation deals with a patient whose preoedipally and oedipally determined deficit in directing libido and aggression toward the world, and resulting resistance to the analytic process, required the use of a "reducible" parameter designed to help him harness libido and aggression in the service of intellectual interest. The peculiar conformation of the patient's Oedipus complex, superimposed on a developmental deficit, led to profound resistance to genetic oedipal and preoedipal interpretations of the paternal and maternal transferences, respectively. The resistance took the form of an avowed lack of intellectual interest in the analytic work which paralleled his lack of interest both in his career and in his interpersonal relationships. The use of a technical parameter involving the provision of advice on an issue of pressing concern and a subsequent "preinterpretive enactment" dealing with the nature of psychoanalytic interpretation were instrumental in securing a "mature transference" (Stone, 1961) and in controlling the resistance-based regression. Via the instrumentality of the parameter, the case provides a concrete exemplification of Kanzer's (1975, p. 49) claim that "even the patient's antagonism toward therapy. . . may play a constructive part in the treatment."