ABSTRACT
This chapter takes up the notion of analytic technique itself. The author follows Lipton’s observation that the term has changed meaning from the analyst’s intentions to the analyst’s behavior. Technique, thus seen as separable from the interaction with the patient, would seem to be reducible to rules of behavior. The author sees that view as harmful and unsupportable by clinical experience. He considers the appeal of that view in terms of reducing the therapist’s anxiety. He develops the argument that what governs how analysts interact with patients is their character structure, and that their espoused theories do not correlate well with what they actually do. He suggests that a character typology would produce a more accurate sorting of therapists and how they work.
