countertransference

n. There are two meanings of the term. In the classical psychoanalytic sense, countertransference refers simply to the therapist's transference toward the patient. That is, countertransference is the therapist,s unconscious feelings toward one person (usually an attachment figure) redirected or transferred to the patient, thereby biasing the view of the therapist toward the patient (e.g., a therapist may unconsciously feel that her patient reminds the therapist of her father and consequently interact with the patient in ways that are not about the patient). Recently, countertransference has come to refer to the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that a patient elicits in a therapist through the patient's behavior that is not due to the therapist's past. Different patients elicit different reactions in therapists, and this information is useful (e.g., a patient who is very sensitive to rejection elicits very different reactions than a patient who is always hostile and argumentative).

- DGa