ABSTRACT
An issue that has rarely been addressed in the psychoanalytic literature is that of patients hearing from others about issues in the analyst’s personal life or aspects of the analyst’s personal or professional functioning. While searching the psychoanalytic electronic publishing (PEP) database, the chapter tried various approaches, including “patients discussing their analysts” and “patients learning about their analysts from others,” which came up empty. “The analyst’s personal life” yielded a handful of articles—but none that specifically dealt with patients who were in treatment hearing, from someone else, something about their analyst. The chapter addresses clinical issues in working with patients who have heard, from others, something about their analyst. It uses clinical vignettes from author's work with two patients to illustrate how patients reported hearing about this change in his life, what their reactions were, how he felt and responded, and how this became part of the tapestry of analytic exploration of their inner worlds.
