ABSTRACT

In some relationships criticism does not assume a central position. The capacity for empathy does not preclude criticism. Criticism may be made of inconsistencies. It is not immediately obvious that inconsistency is wrong. The utility of criticisms lies in the fact that the patient has come to someone who is prepared to be open and truthful, for the sake of greater understanding, even at the risk of hurt and disharmony. In psychoanalytical writings the idea is frequently put forward that the analyst offers himself as a model for 'identification', that because of the method of treatment the patient regresses to a childlike attitude towards the analyst and 'introjects' the good qualities of the latter. Charles Rycroft defines interpretation as: The process of elucidating and expounding the meaning of something abstruse, obscure and so on.