[The prospective image the psychotherapist holds of his patient and its effect on the therapeutic process]

Psychonalytic theory of the therapeutic process is predominantly determined by the concepts of transference, resistance and countertransference. Decisive through the insight into the relationship between analyst and patient thus derived may be, the range of, potential meanings of these concepts does not in the first place encompass a complete theory of the therapist-patient-relationship. It mainly indicates how to use the therapeutical techniques which in turn define the theoretical scope of these terms. What is called the real aspects in the therapeutic relation, ie, those relatively free from transference, and their influence on the therapeutical process are so far unterrepresented in the theory of psychoanalysis. Yet the prospective view the therapist holds of his patient most probably has a decisive impact on the course of a treatment. Although the notion of countertransference offers some technical possibilities for correcting this image and for adjusting it to reality it is not sufficient to account for the complexity of the process in the psychoanalytic theory. The real features of the therapeutical relationship are the secret condition, the very background which alone allows the phenomena of transference and counter-transference to be detected as such.