ABSTRACT
Clinically the unique achievement of Freud is that he invented and established a therapeutic space and distance for the patient and the analyst. In this space and distance the relating becomes feasible only through the capacity in each to sustain illusion and to work with it. The vehicle of this working with illusion is symbolic discourse, commonly referred to as free associations by the patient and interpretations by the analyst. Freud was fully aware that the analytic situation and process made very heavy demands on both the parties concerned, and it took certain maturity of growth and stability of personality organization in both parties for them to be able to work in this area of illusion through symbolic discourse. The behaviour of patients when it transgresses the symbolic discourse and seeks concrete expression and/or need-fulfilment is defined as acting out, that disrupts the therapeutic alliance.
