ABSTRACT
In the discussion on counter-transference, Dr Heimann seemed to suggest that Freud's motivation for the use of the couch need not be regarded as defensive. Jung deliberately broke away from the practice of using the couch, and in providing the opportunity for patient and analyst to look at one another he was fully aware that the analyst was exposed to what he has called the infectious nature of the unconscious. The analyst is prepared to use the manifestations of the unconscious, of which the transference—personal or archetypal—is primarily the vehicle. By virtue of his knowledge and training, the analyst recognizes the transference as the indicator of the patient's unconscious experiences, conflicts and fantasies about the relationship. Both syntonic counter-transference and identification are inherent in what the author has called the common ground of patient and analyst. The temptation to side with the patient, rather than with his potential self, arises as an issue at different stages in analysis.
