ABSTRACT
A key part of knowing each other in the therapeutic dyad is whether our partner in the dyad experiences affection for us, and its nuances if she/he does. By “affection” I mean affiliative, accepting, and caring emotional states with a wide range of variability, from mild fondness to intense love. Within that spectrum is a segment suitable, and I claim vital, for our therapeutic endeavor. Affection as depicted in this chapter is the felt desire to come closer, to span the space between. Affection cannot be willed or mandated, but the possibility of its emergence can be optimized by two key factors in this regard: 1) striving to know our patient through empathy, rather than by an experience–distant theoretical heuristic, and 2) working in a framework of a hermeneutics of trust.
