| Abstract: | ABSTRACT The phenomenon of silence in therapy has not elicited a great deal of research in the past 50 years, but cases that were published acknowledged the many facets of silence in therapy and its having a communicative function and being part of the transference. The aim of this article is to demonstrate a case in which a patient exhibited different kinds of silences which stemmed from different sources over the course of nine years of psychotherapy. In analysing the case, it was proposed that the patient used silences in order to attain proximity to the therapist as an attachment figure and to base the proximity and distance in relation to her. It was also proposed that his silences matured and developed from expressing avoidance to the expression of intimacy thus facilitating the maturation of his capacity to maintain a dialogue. The possibility of interpreting silences is discussed in terms of attachment theory. |
