An attempt to objectify the therapeutic process: a working model

On the basis of their observations in daily psychoanalytic work the authors developed five objective criteria for "bad" analytic hours. These criteria involve affect, intellectualization, isolation, lack of feedback, and dissatisfaction. The authors developed a formulation to help them preconsciously recognize the presence of these factors during therapeutic work and found that it was helpful in turning a potentially bad hour into a productive one.