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The encounter and the states of deferred action How can the encounter between a patient and a psychoanalyst lead into deferred action and become the first exchange in a psychoanalytic process? This question is explored by comparing the papers by J. André and B. Chervet and examining the clinical situations presented in a round-table discussion by M.-F. Dispaux and R. Guarnieri. In these situations, characterised by the repetition compulsion, it is suggested that the encounter leads into a psychoanalytic process when the patient manages to become free of an alienating imago and encounter his own speech as a result of the analyst’s countertransference work using his theoretical thinking.