ABSTRACT
Th e initial encounter is a harbinger of things to come in psychotherapy, and clearly “the termination process starts with the beginning of the treatment” (Werbart 1997, 18). As therapist and patient meet and reach their fi rst impressions, useful clues to the therapeutic processes of transference and countertransference surface. To illustrate this point, the opening paragraphs depicted the initial exchange between the legendary Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann and one of her patients, a young woman presenting with psychotic symptoms. After fl eeing Germany in 1935, Dr. Fromm-Reichmann settled at Chestnut Lodge in Maryland, at that time the only institution specialized in psychoanalytic treatment for psychotic patients. She lived and worked there until her death in 1957. Building on psychoanalytic principles modifi ed through application of interpersonal theory aspects, Dr. Fromm-Reichmann developed individualized treatment strategies for severely ill patients.
