Countertransference
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In psychotherapy, counter-transference is a condition where the therapist, as a result of the therapy sessions, begins to transfer the therapist's own unconscious feelings to the patient. For example, a therapist might have a strong desire for a client to get all 'A's' in university because the client reminds her of her children at that stage in life, and the anxieties that the therapist experienced during that time. Another example would be a therapist who didn't receive enough attention from her father perceiving her client as being too distant and resenting him for it.
Countertransference is also sometimes defined as the entire body of feelings that the therapist has toward the patient, and also includes cases where the therapist literally takes on the suffering of his/her patient [1]. In the most extreme of cases, it can result in the therapist taking on the neurosis or psychosis of the patient, such as bouts of paranoia or psychotic intervals, illustrated by Jung in the case of schizophrenia.[1]
Countertransference is defined in opposition to transference, where a person in therapy begins to transfer feelings (whether positive or negative) to the therapist. For example, the person in therapy may begin to look at the therapist as if the therapist were the patient's mother, transferring their feelings for the real mother to the therapist. This is considered a positive sign in psychoanalytic therapy, showing that the patient is making progress.
Countertransference is ubiquitous and can have both positive and negative effects on the treatment. Most importantly, unanalyzed countertransference can lead the therapist into blindspots and damaging enactments. On the other hand, awareness of countertransferential feelings can provide an important window into the patient's inner world and into the emotions and reactions the client often tends to induce in others.
A related concept is counter-resistance, which includes therapist behaviours that influence the therapeutic process through such "blockings" as (hostile) silence, attempting to change the subject, or otherwise preventing unwanted ideas or feelings from rising to the fore. Counter-resistance can result from a therapist's colluding with the patient's resistance to explore or work through unpleasant issues but can also originate exclusively from the therapist. An example would be an overweight therapist consistently steering an equally overweight client away from discussions about weight loss.
