Psychoanalytic treatment shares with other forms of psychotherapy the aim of bringing about lasting changes within the patient. In common with other ‘insight’ therapies it makes use of interpretations and other verbal interventions (Sandier, Dare and Holder, 1971). While these are aimed partly at making unconscious content and processes conscious, it has been maintained since the early days of psychoanalytic treatment that ‘making what is unconscious conscious' and the gaining of insight is not sufficient, in the ordinary course of events, to bring about a fundamental change in the patient. In contrast to procedures involving hypnosis and massive abreaction (catharsis), the psychoanalytic method is regarded as depending for its success on a number of additional elements. A number of these have been discussed in previous papers, particularly the elements oftreatment alliance(Sandier, Holder and Dare, 1970a),transference(Sandier, Dare and Holder, 1970a, b) and the analysis ofresistance(Sandier, Holder and Dare, 1970b). It is the purpose of the present paper to examine those further factors in the psychoanalytic treatment situation which have been encompassed under the heading ofworking through.