The importance of object choice and object relationships has been emphasized in the theoretical and clinical studies of psychoanalysis. The transference neurosis that develops in a given patient, as well as the significantly focused upon role of the therapist, have also been investigated. Consideration of the analytic alliance as a psychosociological phenomenon involving two persons has been absent. It is the purpose of this communication to present the sociological conceptualizations of Georg Simmel, and to illustrate their pertinence to the psychoanalytic process. Utilizing this sociological frame of reference allows for the establishment of a genetic developmental sequence that can be related to the actual interchange occurring during a psychoanalytic treatment. I. The Dyad and Triad of Georg Simmel Georg Simmel (1858-1918), a German sociologist, developed his ideas about the numerical components in group formation at the end of the 19th century.