ABSTRACT
Concerns abound regarding the analyst's general use of authority – taking advantage of the power tilt that results when patients regress – in order to influence the mind of the analysand and encourage change. Discounting the analyst's authoritative knowledge about the patient threatens to rob the analyst of the leverage needed to facilitate change. In certain ways, the relationship between analyst and patient replicates that of parent and child, thus furthering the analyst's role as an authority. The main instrument of influence for many analysts is their interpretation of the patient's inner life: the patient's wishes and fears, conflicts and compromises, and ways of organizing understandings of interpersonal interactions in accordance with certain predetermined expectations as to how a relationship will unfold. As analysts have become increasingly concerned about the potential abuses inherent in their use of authority, some have questioned any adherence to technical measures designed to heighten regression.
