Download.pdf

The development of science is closely tied to the instruments used, with each instrument revealing a specific aspect of the field of study. The discovery of Transference by Freud initially seemed to promise a solution to major problems of human personality, but its extensive use has only partially realized this hope. Psychopathological research follows the normal course of scientific advance, with each major discovery proving to have defined limits of validity. The study of Transference is hindered by its occurrence within a two-person relationship, making it immune to direct observation. To gain insight into Transference, a reconsideration of what takes place in the patient is necessary, taking into account the processes and experiences that are at work, as well as the forces that attempt to drive them into consciousness. The therapeutic process aims to bring these processes into view and understand them, which is a problem of communication. The relation between medium and content is crucial, as only those experiences that the medium makes possible can be communicated. The interpersonal relationship of physician and patient has limitations in mediating the essential forces determining human personality. Two characteristics of inner experience that can only with difficulty appear in Transference are the simultaneous presence of many aspects and levels of experience and the existence of fragmentation. A means must be found to allow for the expression of these aspects of human experience, such as the use of a technique that permits objective expression by the analysand.