ABSTRACT
Emma first presented seventeen years ago, when she was in her late twenties. Upon meeting a new client, it is my habit to take a mental “snapshot” of them before I even hear them speak, and then to hold this image. I find, so often, that this initial image is in stark contrast with the way in which the individual seeks to present herself (as the “false self” (Winnicott, 1965)) in subsequent sessions. The disparity between the two images with which I am presented enables me to make a useful and perceptive interpretation that frequently pinpoints the very heart of the person’s pathology.
