ABSTRACT
In the clinical situation, the analyst manages to understand only a tiny fraction of what is happening at any given moment. In this chapter, the author strives to give that obvious fact its proper position in thinking about the analyst’s participation in the clinical encounter. A clinical vignette illustrates how patients can and should become collaborators in the listening process, especially with respect to listening to how the analyst listens. Some theoretical perspectives are critiqued for their tacit assumption that the analyst’s character is somehow exempt from the analytic process.
