The Analysand’s Presence

Abstract

Though it may sound paradoxical, the analysand bears a certain responsibility for being “present” in his or her own analysis. The accuracy of this view is widely recognized in the psychoanalytic literature, though usually discussed indirectly, notably in the vast literature on “resistance.” The fact that the term resistance itself has been disappearing from our lexicon suggests that the issue of the analysand’s presence in the analysis has become more difficultto address for a variety of reasons. Among these may be the increasing emphasis we place in contemporary analytic theory on the analyst’s responsibilities. With brief clinical illustrations, this article explores the balance of presence in the analytic situation, and the role of courage.