Rules

Abstract

Psychoanalytic rules have multiple functions, a fact that is a consequence of the tasks and goals of the psychoanalytic dialogue, as we have explained in Vol.1 (Sect. 7.1). This is the reason that the corresponding chapter in Vol.1 is focused on the thesis that the efficacy of each rule has to be proven for each and every patient. The rules are put to a test when the analyst pursues the question of whether the system of rules provides a given patient the best possible conditions for therapeutic change. The issue of the utility of rules is a good starting point for using them in a flexible manner, i. e., one in which they are applied in a manner appropriate to the individual patient, and for guiding the dialogue toward therapeutic goals. Since the rules are subordinate to the dialogue, we assign the latter a prime place in this chapter (Sect. 7.1).