ABSTRACT
There has been considerable constructive dialogue between Freudians and Jungians since the rift between them in 1913. But one of the issues not discussed until recently is the issue of touch and tactile communication. Freud, after giving up hypnosis, when he would put his hand on his patient’s forehead, devised his technique of abstinence with the therapist acting as a blank screen. As he puts it, analysts should “. . . model themselves . . . on the surgeon, who puts aside all his feelings . . .” (Freud, 1912e, p. 115). However, he also says,
. . . I am well advised . . . to call these rules ‘recommendations’ and not to claim any unconditional acceptance for them. The extraordinary diversity of the psychical constellations concerned . . . oppose any mechanization of the technique . . . a course of action that is as a rule justified may at times prove ineffective, whilst one that is usually mistaken may . . . lead to the desired end. [Freud, 1913c, p. 123]
