Describe the Transference/Counter-Transference Element of the Therapeutic Relationship
Describe the transference/counter-transference element of the therapeutic relationship
“We see things not as they are but as we are”
Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)
The transference/counter-transference concept is considered an essential part of the analytical process and plays a fundamental part in creating therapeutic change. Clarkson (2003) has identified transference and counter-transference as one of the 5 strands in her model of the therapeutic relationship. Clarkson (2003) defines the transference/counter-transference relationship as the ‘experience of distortion of the working alliance by wishes and fears and experiences from the past transferred onto or into the therapeutic partnership’. This essay will examine the development of transference and counter-transference as a therapeutic tool with an exploration of the ways in which it can be defined and used in a therapeutic setting. Finally an overview of the way the concept of transference/counter-transference has been received by different schools of therapeutic thought will be briefly discussed.
Transference is a defining aspect of psychodynamic therapy but occurs outside the therapy room in every human relationship. Therapeutically transference can be understood as the client’s repetition of past often child-like patterns of relating to significant others that are brought to the present in relation to the therapist (Jacobs, M, 2004). It can also involve the transference of current ways of relating onto the therapeutic relationship. Freud described transference as the way the client sees and responds to the therapist including the client’s perceptions, responses and provocations towards the therapist (Kahn, M., 1997).
Transference was originally viewed as a form of resistance and believed to present an obstacle to the therapeutic relationship in which the client sees the therapist as a father, mother, lover etc and not as a professional offering assistance (Jacobs, M., 2004). Breuer and Anna O
“We see things not as they are but as we are”
Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)
The transference/counter-transference concept is considered an essential part of the analytical process and plays a fundamental part in creating therapeutic change. Clarkson (2003) has identified transference and counter-transference as one of the 5 strands in her model of the therapeutic relationship. Clarkson (2003) defines the transference/counter-transference relationship as the ‘experience of distortion of the working alliance by wishes and fears and experiences from the past transferred onto or into the therapeutic partnership’. This essay will examine the development of transference and counter-transference as a therapeutic tool with an exploration of the ways in which it can be defined and used in a therapeutic setting. Finally an overview of the way the concept of transference/counter-transference has been received by different schools of therapeutic thought will be briefly discussed.
Transference is a defining aspect of psychodynamic therapy but occurs outside the therapy room in every human relationship. Therapeutically transference can be understood as the client’s repetition of past often child-like patterns of relating to significant others that are brought to the present in relation to the therapist (Jacobs, M, 2004). It can also involve the transference of current ways of relating onto the therapeutic relationship. Freud described transference as the way the client sees and responds to the therapist including the client’s perceptions, responses and provocations towards the therapist (Kahn, M., 1997).
Transference was originally viewed as a form of resistance and believed to present an obstacle to the therapeutic relationship in which the client sees the therapist as a father, mother, lover etc and not as a professional offering assistance (Jacobs, M., 2004). Breuer and Anna O
References: Casement, P. (1991) Learning from the Patient, The Guildford Press, New York Clarke, L., (1988) ‘Transference by any other name’, British Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 5 (2) Clarkson, P. (2003) The therapeutic relationship (2nd ed), Whurr Publishers, London Jacobs, M. (2004) Psychodynamic counselling in action, Sage Publications, London Kahn, M. (1997) Between therapist and client: the new relationship, Henry Holt and Company, New York Mann, D. (1997) Psychotherapy: an erotic relationship, Routledge, East sussex Moodley, R. and Palmer, S. (2006) Race, Culture and Psychotherapy, Routledge, East Sussex O’Brien, M. and Houston, G. (2007) Integrative Therapy, Sage Publications, London Rosenberg, V., (2006) ‘Countertransference: whose feelings?’, British Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 22 (4)