How the Patient's Plan Relates to the Concept of Transference

Inconsistent findings in previous studies of interpretations have resulted from the confounding of categories of interpretations with accuracy of interpretations. This study adds two new patient process measures (Insight and Referential Activity) to our original study (Fretter, 1984; Silberschatz, Fretter, & Curtis, 1986) and consistently demonstrates that accuracy (as measured by Plan Compatibility) is a significant predictor of three patients' immediate progress in brief dynamic psychotherapy, whereas category (transference versus nontransference) is not. The theoretical concept of transference is translated into the concept of the Plan. Finally, a clinical case taken from the empirical study is presented to illustrate our theoretical point that the power of the Plan lies in its case-specific ability to address multiple aspects of the patient's many transferences whether or not they are directed explicitly toward the therapist.