Therapists dwell in the land of emotions. It is our job to receive the emotional tenor of our analysands, to follow their speech patterns, their repetitions, their haltings, speedings-up and silences. We endeavor to find the words to decipher the complexity and subtlety of what is wanting to be conveyed and understood. It is not a simple job.
The therapist’s emotional capacities are stretched. We register a feeling in the person we are working with, such as fear. But it isn’t just fear; there is a tinge of despair that alerts us to a closing in, almost, a collapse and a