preview

The Therapy And The Psychologist 's Work With People Seeking Treatment

Decent Essays

Countertransference, which occurs when a therapist transfers emotions to a person in therapy, is often a reaction to transference, a phenomenon in which the person in treatment redirects feelings for others onto the therapist.
History of Countertransference
Sigmund Freud originally developed the concept of countertransference. He described it as a largely unconscious phenomenon in which the psychologist’s emotions are influenced by a person in therapy and the psychologist reacts with countertransference. Classical psychoanalysts, such as Carl Jung, who faced his own struggle with countertransference, characterize it as a potentially problematic phenomenon that can inhibit psychological treatment when left unchecked.

In other words, it is necessary for therapists to master the tendency to participate in unconscious countertransference by developing healthy boundaries and remaining mindful of the threat posed by countertransference, both to the therapeutic relationship and a therapist’s work with people seeking treatment.
In contemporary psychology, clinicians typically make a distinction between helpful and unhelpful countertransference. Many contemporary psychologists openly share their own feelings with the people they are treating and may use countertransference, in a conscious manner, to understand differences between their own experiences and the experiences of the person in therapy.
Unhelpful countertransference, or even harmful countertransference, can occur when the

Get Access