ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an intriguing look into the hidden world of the consulting room through a case study of Joanna. Joanna had come to therapy when she was thirty-four. She was the personnel director of a large company but despite her clear abilities, her competence, her popularity and her evident joy in many aspects of her life, she despaired at ever having a permanent relationship in which she might have children. Jeremy's withdrawal made Joanna crazy. Abandoned and lost, she threw herself at him and on him, kicking and punching him until he would either hit her or cry or do both. An experienced therapist approaches each clinical situation with a reasonable confidence in her knowledge. This confidence, which is not about the particulars of how any specific case may unfold or be understood, is one about the possibility of understanding and becomes the ground on which uncertainty and surprise can be thought about and managed.
