title: Active neutrality and Loewald's metaphor of theater.
abstract: The value of neutrality as an integral aspect of a desirable analytic stance is viewed here through Hans Loewald's metaphor of theater, applied to the analytic situation. His emphases on both the analyst's subjectivity and objectivity and their influence on the "new object" are explored through clinical vignettes. James Strachey's 1934 views on similar concepts are used to highlight derived contemporary shifts influenced by Loewald's work.
authors.affiliation: Yale University, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Balsam
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy