ABSTRACT
While the good-enough analyst will work effectively enough with the good-enough patient, the nature and depth of what is analyzed will vary depending on the particular patient-analyst pair. Along with the analyst’s skill, both technical and empathic, subtle aspects of character and conflict of both patient and analyst and their interplay constitute a central therapeutic factor in our analytic work. The match of patient and analyst may be both mutative to earlier struggles, conflicts, and deficits, and beneficial in promoting and enhancing earlier strengths.
