The Regulatory Function of the Therapeutic Frame

In psychotherapy, particularly within psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches, there is a central concept called the frame. This concept encompasses the elements that define the structure of the therapeutic process, such as the day and time of the sessions, their duration, the therapist’s role, the boundaries of the therapist-client relationship, and even the physical arrangement of the therapy room. From the outside, the frame may appear to exist merely to establish certain rules and boundaries. While this is partly true, the frame plays a far more fundamental role in the psychotherapy process. Regardless of the client’s age, the stability of the frame is one of the essential conditions that allows the client to bring their inner chaos and intense emotions safely into the therapeutic space. In this article, we will focus on one of the frame’s core functions: its regulatory role.

Life itself unfolds through rhythmic repetitions that regulate the organism’s bodily functions: heartbeat, breathing, sleep cycles. These rhythmic repetitions maintain the internal balance of the human organism, known as homeostasis. In biology, homeostasis is defined as the maintenance of internal constancy within an organism, keeping variables such as body temperature, blood sugar, and fluid-electrolyte balance within certain limits despite external changes (e.g., temperature shifts, physical activity, or stress). In short, it can be thought of as the process of preserving internal equilibrium. Freud’s constancy principle can be related to these ideas. According to Freud, living beings strive to maintain their level of stimulation within a certain balance, protecting themselves from excessive increases or decreases. In essence, humans seek to establish and preserve an internal equilibrium, a kind of psychic economy, in order to survive and function.

A similar mechanism operates in psychotherapy. Throughout the process, particularly through the stability of the frame, a rhythm and constancy are established to support the client’s internal regulation. The consistency of the frame offers a structure within which emotional fluctuations in the client’s inner world can be safely contained, much like the biological principle described above. When inner chaos, uncertainty, or intense emotions arise, the predictable and steady rhythm of the therapy room and the therapeutic relationship provides a psychologically regulating function. This experience can be likened to looking at the horizon while at sea: just as the eye’s focus on a fixed point helps the body regain balance amid the waves, the stability of the frame offers the client a firm anchor to rely on in the midst of their inner turbulence. Experiencing this allows the client to internalize this external rhythm and stability, gradually incorporating it into their own psychic structure and developing a capacity for self-regulation. The therapeutic frame, steady, reliable, and unshaken regardless of circumstances, serves as a safe refuge. Like the horizon we know will always be there, or the sun that we know will rise again each morning, it offers a secure base upon which the client can lean with trust.

On the other hand, knowing that the frame will not collapse does not mean that conditions or arrangements will never change. Unpredictability and uncontrollability are part of life itself, and the psychotherapy process is not exempt from this reality. What truly matters is the presence of a relational space in which even change or unexpected situations can be openly and safely discussed. What remains constant is not the absence of change, but the preservation of a trustworthy and predictable structure between therapist and client, in other words, the idea of the frame. The stability of the frame rests not on rigid immutability but on a continuity grounded in mutual trust, openness, and collaboration. When necessary, the ability to redefine the frame together reflects the respect, equality, and care for the client’s autonomy that lie at the heart of the therapeutic relationship.

In short, the stability and predictability provided by the therapeutic frame form the soil in which psychotherapy can take root, allowing relationship and transformation to grow, and offer the client a secure and reliable internal anchor. For this reason, therapists, particularly those working within psychoanalytic and psychodynamic frameworks, pay special attention to maintaining the elements of the frame.

In this article, we focused on the regulatory function of the frame. Yet the frame’s role in the therapeutic process extends far beyond this: from facilitating the emergence of transference to protecting the shared imaginative space between therapist and client; from representing the reality principle to supporting the client’s autonomy. In the upcoming articles, we will take a closer look at these multifaceted functions.