‭Transference:‬

‭ he word 'transference' refers to a human tendency to displace emotional attitudes and‬

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‭feelings, learned in early childhood, to many situations in adult life. These emotional‬
‭attitudes and ways of relating were initially directed towards parents or carers, who are, after‬
‭all, the people closest to a young child. When, in later life, people become ill or need help,‬
‭they tend to regress emotionally to this early stage of dependence. As a result, a lot of‬
‭power, authority and expertise is invested in those who are approached for help. The client‬
‭reacts as though he/she is a small child and the analyst is an authority figure, relieving a‬
‭situation at the time of the original repression. Vulnerability during illness or emotional‬
‭upheaval often prompts people to transfer their early helplessness to the person helping in‬
‭the present. This usually works well, especially in the initial stage when help, support or‬
‭treatment are crucial. However, it can work against the person seeking help if parental‬
‭qualities are transferred on to an inept, unscrupulous or exploitative helper.‬
‭In psychodynamic counselling, the development of the counsellor/client relationship is‬
‭considered to be especially significant, since it tends to recreate, for the client, early‬
‭relationships, particularly those with parents or significant others from the past. Therapy‬
‭begins with the client having friendly feelings, even love and affection-positive transference.‬
‭But as therapy proceeds negative, hostile feelings develop-negative transference.The‬
‭transference thus reveals the childhood ambivalence towards parents. People tend to‬
‭transfer to new relationships, many of the feelings and attitudes which they experienced in‬
‭childhood.‬
‭●‬ ‭For a male client who has a strict and punitive mother, for example, all subsequent‬
‭relationships with women will tend to be influenced, to some extent at least, by the‬
‭feelings which he had for her. This may well cause problems in adult life since the‬
‭ambivalent combination of love and fear which he probably experienced in early life‬
‭may make it impossible for him to respond in any other way to women generally. A‬
‭focus of psychodynamic counselling would be to assist such a client to achieve a‬
‭deeper understanding of his feelings for his mother, and then to discuss how these‬
‭feelings may be influencing his relationships now. Only in this way can the client free‬
‭himself from a negative response pattern which might make a fully adult partnership‬
‭impossible for him. If the counsellor in this situation is a woman, it will probably‬
‭became apparent at some stage during the counselling sessions that the client's‬
‭ambivalent feelings are being transferred to her as well. Without realising it, clients‬
‭tend to respond emotionally to the counsellor in the same way that they responded‬
‭towards adults when they were children. This form of response invites a reciprocal‬
‭one from the counsellor, for the client - again unconsciously tries to elicit reactions‬
‭similar to those he elicited from adults in the past.‬

‭ he manifestation of these unconscious feelings, emotions and attitudes, which rightly‬

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‭belong to childhood, is seen as beneficial in psychodynamic counselling since it serves to‬
‭bring into the open the clients usual way of functioning, especially when under stress. The‬
‭insight gained when repressed feelings and emotions are thus revealed can be very great,‬
‭but only when the counsellor works closely with the client in order to identify and understand‬
‭them.‬
‭ YPES OF TRANSFERENCE‬
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‭There are 3 main particular types of transference that have their own characteristics-‬
‭a)‬ ‭Maternal transference-‬‭occurs when an individual treats‬‭another person as a mother or‬
‭idealised mother figure. This person is often viewed as loving and influential, and nurture‬
‭and comfort is often expected from them.The transference might be expressed through‬
‭thoughts or phrases used by the client in relation to the counsellor, which seem to say,‬
‭“hold me, feed me” etc. Sometimes meant literally, more often metaphorically, or by‬
‭corresponding anger if the counsellor is seen to fail to meet such demands, or fear of‬
‭closeness, or of being smothered by the counsellor.‬
‭b)‬ ‭Paternal transference-‬‭The counsellor is treated as‬‭an authority, as someone who‬
‭knows the answers, who will set down rules, who will give advice and guidance and who‬
‭will either be pleased with or critical of the client or the legitimate authority of the‬
‭counsellor will be restricted , as if he or she represents someone who seeks to exercise‬
‭unreasonable power. The phrases may be illustrated as - ‘tell me, advise me, guide me’‬
‭etc.‬
‭c)‬ ‭Lover/sexual partner transference-‬‭It is seen in case‬‭where the client wants a‬
‭particular kind of special relationship, wishing for or fantasising about the counsellor‬
‭either as an intimate friend or sexual partner.‬

‭Countertransference:‬
‭ he counselling relationship includes another dimension which bears a close resemblance to‬
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‭transference.‬
‭Indeed, it is the‬‭counterpart to transference‬‭:‬‭that‬‭is, the feelings evoked in the‬
‭counsellor by the client.‬

‭ s was the case initially with the phenomenon of transference, countertransference was at‬
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‭first (and for a long time) viewed as a barrier to effective psychodynamic work. It was‬
‭understood simply as the therapist's irrational and inappropriate reaction to particular clients,‬
‭or particular features generally in clients, and therefore a block to insight and understanding‬
‭on the therapist's part.‬

‭ ersonal analysis was introduced partly to try to overcome this ever-present difficulty. Only‬
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‭later was it realised, as it was with transference, that there are aspects of‬
‭counter-transference which can be extremely valuable in furthering the course of therapy,‬
‭making tor even more effective understanding of the client and the therapeutic relationship.‬

‭ ounter-transference has come to be used in current thinking as a constant way of‬

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‭monitoring what is going on between the counsellor and the client.‬

‭A counsellor's feelings when with and/or towards a particular client‬‭may result from‬
‭●‬ ‭the counsellor's reactions that belong more appropriately to‬‭another part of the‬
‭counsellor's life, either earlier or external to the counselling situation‬‭.‬
‭●‬ ‭Yet some of a counsellor's feelings may be triggered by the‬‭actual relationship‬
‭with the client.‬
‭ ounter-transference feelings that impede the counselling relationship‬‭might include‬
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‭the counsellor's hostile feelings towards a client, even though the client has done nothing to‬
‭make the counsellor feel angry; or over-anxiousness about a client, for example, because‬
‭the client reminds the counsellor of another case where things went badly wrong. The‬
‭counsellor may not notice some things that a client is hinting at because of her or his own‬
‭blind spots. Alternatively, the counsellor can experience inappropriate positive feelings for‬
‭the client: for instance, becoming over-concerned, unduly generous over time, or even lax in‬
‭maintaining counselling boundaries, favouring the client by giving more than usual, or‬
‭responding more personally than would normally be felt to be appropriate. The counsellor‬
‭may even feel unduly attracted to the client.‬

‭ ith a feeling of sadness and also great accomplishment, a young therapist was‬
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‭preparing to complete training and move to a new city. His patient was planning to‬
‭begin a new marriage. The therapist became concerned that the patient was making‬
‭a bad choice and was acting impulsively. He was concerned that something would‬
‭happen that would “injure” the patient’s life. The therapist sought out a colleague and‬
‭discussed his feelings with him. The colleague listened and said that it sounded as‬
‭though the patient was making a reasonable decision and the patient was talking‬
‭about how the therapy had helped him and would be missed. That night, the therapist‬
‭had a dream in which it was snowing in the month of July. He thought about the‬
‭dream and recalled a vague memory of a separation from his father. The separation‬
‭was in December, and the therapist, then 3 years old, was in danger from a serious‬
‭illness. The therapist’s patient came to mind, and the therapist realized he was‬
‭seeing his anxiety about the separation and about “leaving Father behind” in his view‬
‭of the patient. The therapist felt much relief from his overconcern for the patient and‬
‭was better able to hear the patient’s feelings of success and hope and to experience‬
‭his own.‬

‭ ounter-transference also refers to those feelings that the counsellor experiences which can‬
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‭enhance empathy with and understanding of the client.‬

‭ ometimes, for instance, a counsellor can feel so irritated by a client that, were this not‬
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‭counselling, it would be tempting to break off the relationship. The client describes how‬
‭difficult it is to sustain relationships, and the counsellor thinks: I’m not surprised!" The‬
‭counsellor does not stop there, but instead notes this personal reaction, checks to see‬
‭whether it is the counsellor's own problem with the client, perhaps recognises that it is not‬
‭and‬‭so can identify with what other people may feel‬‭in the presence of this client‬‭.‬

‭ he counsellor may go even further and wonder whether the reaction the client invokes can‬
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‭provide any clues as to what the client feels about herself or himself. Another example of‬
‭using the counsellor's feelings as they may be aroused by the client can be seen in a‬
‭situation where he or she listens to a client's story and feels angry at the way the client has‬
‭been treated. Yet the counsellor is also aware that the client is not visibly moved and even‬
‭denies any feeling of being angry. Because the counsellor can identify with the client's‬
‭ ituation, he or she‬‭can experience a feeling or a thought that the client may be afraid‬
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‭to admit and express.‬

‭ hat is essential in all these examples is that a counsellor clarifies whether her or his‬
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‭feelings and thoughts are being evoked by the client, or whether their source lies in the‬
‭counsellor's own agenda.‬

‭ here is an area where the client and counsellor may impinge on each other. This may then‬
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‭lead, without confusing the boundaries between self and the other, to a deeper‬
‭understanding of the client. Suppose, for‬‭example‬‭,‬‭that a counsellor feels absolutely‬
‭useless, and that he or she is of no help to the client. The counsellor does not know what to‬
‭say or do to help the situation. This may be troubling to the trainee counsellor, or even to the‬
‭therapist who looks too keenly for results. However, a counsellor who has learned to contain‬
‭feelings of uselessness may then identify them in a particular situation as a possible‬
‭reflection of the client's own feelings of helplessness.‬

‭Some more examples :‬

 ‭■ COUNTERTRANSFERENCE IN WORK WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY‬
‭ ISORDER PATIENTS‬
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‭Countertransference emerges in typical patterns in certain diagnostic categories. As a group,‬
‭patients with borderline personality disorder have poorly integrated their loving and hostile‬
‭feelings, both toward themselves and toward the important people in their lives.‬

‭ ypically, in the course of dynamic psychotherapy, borderline patients express positively and‬
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‭negatively toned images of themselves and others in their lives.‬

‭ requently, these images seem to be expressed separately and sequentially, rather than as‬
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‭a whole set of feelings complexly mixed and ambivalently felt.‬

‭ he therapist’s countertransference feelings may then constitute a bewilderingly‬

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‭disconnected sequence of emotional reactions (Kernberg 1976).‬

‭ hese feelings are the result of the patient’s unintegrated and widely disparate moods,‬
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‭self-presentations, and modes of relating to the therapist, as seen in the following example:‬

‭●‬ ‭ borderline patient complained for many sessions of her emotional isolation,‬
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‭depression, sexual inhibition, and deprivation. A product of a rigid and puritanically‬
‭religious home, the patient had absorbed a harsh conscience, full of fire and‬
‭brimstone and her mother’s sternly religious prohibitions. After many sessions of‬
‭describing her fear of her mother’s criticism, the patient presented a dream in which‬
‭her mother stood on a table with an accusing finger pointed at the patient, who was‬
‭cowering below. In the very next session, the patient demanded that her therapist‬
‭explain her symptoms to her. She insisted that after seeing her all these months, the‬
‭therapist should have a complete understanding of her case. Treatment was taking‬
‭too long. She suspected that other forms of therapy were better and faster. The‬
‭therapist first experienced a rush of guilt because she was unable to present a‬
‭formulation of the patient’s case. The therapist wished that she could do it on the‬
‭spot to appease her angry patient! It then suddenly occurred to the clinician that she‬
‭was now in the patient’s usual position—as in the dream—“cowering under the‬
‭table.” The patient had enacted the image of the demanding, intimidating mother.‬

‭ his borderline patient enacted different pieces of her important relationships at different‬
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‭times. One day she was the small, guilty child; the next day she was the demanding and‬
‭intimidating mother, assigning the little-girl image of herself, with all her frightened feelings,‬
‭to her therapist. The sequentially expressed, unintegrated pieces of the transference and of‬
‭the resulting countertransference were then available for the therapist to integrate in her own‬
‭mind and present back to the patient. With this type of patient, the therapist must think‬
‭across time and from one feeling state to another to process the countertransference. The‬
‭feelings aroused in the therapist may be quite disparate and separated in time and yet must‬
‭be recalled and remembered to understand the patient’s psychic reality.‬