The analyst's reality

Attention is called to ways in which the analyst's subjective experience and judgment of reality, aspects of his or her psychic reality, not only are necessary to the effective conduct of any psychoanalysis but play a positive and useful role. The theoretical framework of ego psychology risks overemphasizing the primacy of the analyst's reality, while self psychology risks discarding it in favor of the patient's psychic reality. Each view has its dangers, and an integration of both should be sought without losing the advantages of either. Although the analyst's view of reality may in some instances be relatively privileged, most often it is valuable as a heuristic device focusing the analyst's attention when a discrepancy appears between the patient's version of reality and that of the analyst. When used in such a manner, it enhances rather than detracts from the analytic, empathic investigation of the patient's reality.