ABSTRACT
Basically, there are two forms of decoding in use in the field of psychotherapy. They are called isolated symbolic decoding and isolated fantasy decoding. Symbols are in principle relatively fixed encoded representations that tend to disguise body parts and functions, and major events, issues, and conflicts that are common to most lives. In general, most therapists who engage in isolated forms of decoding that stress inner mental configurations will envision the presence of a symbolic expression when a patient communicates an image that seems to reflect a universal concern in some readily palpable form. The decoding and formulation of communications as reflections of isolated or aroused unconscious fantasies and memories is an inventive, fascinating pursuit that at one time was frequently engaged in by psychoanalysts. There is a special class of encoded fantasies and wishes that are postulated to refer, in disguise, to a treating therapist or analyst – or to a self-processing teacher.
