ABSTRACT
K en, a professional in his middle 40s, came to me in crisis follow-ing the tumultuous termination of a long analysis. That treatment, while initially helpful, had gradually deteriorated into a sadomasochistic enactment into which Ken's analyst seemed to have little insight. Ken described his analyst as withholding and sometimes mocking; unable to reflect on the relational lock, she rigidly maintained her position until the treatment stalled. Feeling despair and self-hatred because of his inability to reach his analyst, Ken left treatment. Although he felt briefly exhilarated at having freed himself from this masochistic attachment, Ken quickly fell into a serious depression. Simultaneously blaming himself and expressing hurt and anger toward his analyst, Ken became preoccupied with the treatment failure.
