ABSTRACT
When, in 1974, the psychoanalytically orientated department for adults was created at the St Joseph's University Centre in Kortenberg, Belgium, it was not designed with notions like transitional space or transitional change in mind. The psychoanalytic department for adults had developed for about ten years when the author started to work there as a psychoanalytic group therapist. Most patients had tried some sort of ambulatory or residential therapy before, with little or no success. Clarification of the notion "psychoanalytic work perspective" in comparison with "psychoanalytic therapy" started with the identification of the essential basic elements that constitute such a perspective. The "individuals and groups involved in a transitional change process undergoing both learning and development" is seen as a key feature pertaining to such a process. This learning and development lead mostly to a better understanding of the complex intricacies between individual, collective, technical, and conceptual issues.
