ABSTRACT
In the treatment there is an encounter between two irrational factors, that is to say, between two persons who are not fixed and determinate quantities but who bring with them, besides their more or less clearly defined fields of consciousness, an indefinitely extended sphere of non-consciousness. Hence the personalities of doctor and patient are often infinitely more important than what the doctor says and thinks…. For two personalities to meet is like mixing two chemical substances: if there is any combination at all, both are transformed. In any effective psychological treatment the doctor is bound to influence the patient; but this influence can only take place of the patient has a reciprocal influence on the doctor….
