ABSTRACT
The essence, of the kind of transference manifestations that interest the therapist is rigidity. The rule of abstinence derives its justification from the belief that the crucial element in therapy is the repetition of a childhood traumatic experience in a situation which encourages a new and better resolution. In view of the disadvantages of the rule of abstinence it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that it derives from unacknowledged forces. In a therapeutic encounter a compromise will be reached in which each person decides how far he is prepared to go in revealing his own wishes and meeting the wishes of the other. In transference a person expects matters to turn out as they have done in the past. In regression he takes an attitude to the past and to the present with special relevance to hope.
