ABSTRACT
Taking up the adverb “really”, the psychoanalyst signalled that there existed “in fact”, concerning the formulation that imposed itself on the patient, a real inner debate. The adverb introduced a nuance, even a contradiction, between what was said and what was trying to express itself. The intervention concerning the adverb “really” is addressed to the ego, underlining its capacity to identify and overcome a resistance; it urges it to continue its exploration. The adverb effect enables the patient to find what is already there in what he is saying. It is a form of Winnicottian found/created, but a particular form based on an appropriation of speech, its cathexis, its libidinalisation as a necessary prior phase for associative displacement. The adverb effect is thus a time of opening up the interpretative process that is particularly useful not only during the session but also during the preliminary interviews.
