[1] The concept was introduced by Sigmund Freud in 1914,[2] and assumed ever greater importance in psychoanalysis, in contrast to the immediacy of abreaction.
[5] Because of the power of resistance,[6] the client's rational thought and conscious awareness may not be sufficient on their own to overcome the maladjustment, entailing further interpretation and further working through.
[7] Before formulating the concept of working through, in his case study of the Rat Man, Freud wrote of his interpretations:[8] "It is never the aim of discussions like these to create convictions.
They are only intended to bring the repressed complexes into consciousness...and to facilitate the emergence of fresh material from the unconscious.
[11] Jacques Lacan compared the process of working-through to the stylistic recommendations of Boileau: "Cent fois sur the métier, remettez...A hundred times consider what you've said"(Pope).