ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the clinical elements author encountered as he tries to understand the results of establishing, or at least trying to establish, a relationship with one new patient. The initial phase of psychoanalytic treatment can be quite difficult for patient and analyst. The analyst is simply the new surprise guest in the patient's internal world and has to feel his way through that unfamiliar darkness. Counter-transference is essential in this respect and careful monitoring of patient's responses to interpretation is important. Paul's descriptions of his delusions and his psychotic theories in a way that left author drifting into a mutual superiority and defensive distancing. When Paul explained his theory about how it might be a good thing to be so anxious from a historical perspective, author temporarily forgot that he had been talking about the awful dread he lived with every day and the constant anxiety that made it impossible for him to build any friendships or love life.
