ABSTRACT
The anorexic patient in this chapter experienced an empathic failure on the therapist's part when the therapist offered a reality testing perspective rather than mirroring the joyful, though unrealistic, pleasure of the patient. While this respond was first experienced as a frustrating failure of the therapist, it was later transformed into a satisfying experience of an idealizable parental figure, whose knowledge and understanding could be a source of confidence. Through such processes of transmuting internalization, the patient regained confidence in her own ability to take care of herself, regulate and soothe herself, as well as to enjoy real relationships. With the growth of the self, the anorexic symptoms fully remitted.
