ABSTRACT
The patient has planned the session in advance and has studied the therapist’s ways sufficiently to know how will react, face coming to the session. For the fantasy “perfect future” to be realized, the therapist is expected to cooperate actively. This chapter presents the case Anthony. Anthony was gripped by a consuming obsession for his rejecting girlfriend, Cher, who, he thought, was beginning an affair with a younger, handsome colleague. Yet Anthony was convinced this woman was still only just beyond his reach. With the therapist’s help, Cher would be restored to him. The therapist existed solely to bolster the fantasy and to make the wish come true. Although the focus of “This year” and “Next year” states are contrasting, as with Beth, behind Anthony’s conscious, driven desire was the underlying infant yearning for loving parents—a similar “unconscious wish magically to turn the clock back and be a baby”.
