ABSTRACT
Some patients desperately want to know the future. In particular they want to know whether everything will be alright. They often assume their analysts know what is to come in their analyses and in their lives. They may demand to know whether they are going to find love and vocational success. Frequently they turn to psychics and astrologers. Analysts may feel envious and competitive with these paranormal practitioners. They may also feel as relieved as their patients are upon receiving these uncanny assurances. Transferential roots of these longings and the therapist’s need to sometimes assume an idealized role are discussed. During analysis, cravings for concrete reassurance diminish as internalization processes repair a basic personality fault and foster advance from the Paranoid-Schizoid to the Depressive Position. The future becomes known as a place where things will likely be alright even if at times very difficult.
