Posted by Karen_kay on November 25, 2003, at 21:29:45
In reply to Countertransference Question, posted by Speaker on November 25, 2003, at 20:52:12
It is much like a transference reaction that a client has towards a therapist.
Countertransference. This is the highly specific situation in which the therapist forms an emotional reaction to the affect expressed by the patient; it is different from affective resonance in that the reaction of the therapist usually turns out to be analogous to the way a significant past figure (mother, sibling, father, etc.) had reacted to the patient in the past. If the therapist reacts from his/her own background, this is another form of transference (it devolves from the therapist's real self). Countertransference, therefore, is an affective counter to the transference being experienced by the patient, and can provide excellent data about the interpersonal situation of the patient back in the days when the (archaic) transference was formed.This should explain it more clearly. It happens all the time. My therapist and I fight all the time. I mean we bicker back and forth! I can't help but wonder if it has a lot to do with both transference and countertranference.
I think what happened in the case you are talking about is that possibly (?) countertransference was so strong that the therapist couldn't get a handle on it and it was getting in the way of helping the client. Maybe the client reminded the therapist of a relative? Or a former lover? Just a possibility.
poster:Karen_kay
thread:283808
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031123/msgs/283825.html