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[[countertransference <ref>]] ([[French]]: ''[[contre-transfert]]''</ref> )
[[Freud]] used the term '[[countertransference]]' to denote the [[analyst]]'s [[unconscious]] [[feelings]] toward the [[analysand]].
Although [[Freud]] only used the term very rarely, it became much more widely used in [[psychoanalytic theory]] after his [[death]].
In particular, [[analyst]]s soon divided over the role allotted to [[countertransference]] in discussions of [[technique]].
On the one hand, many [[analyst]]s argued that [[counter-transference]] manifestations were the result of incompletely analysed elements in the [[analyst]], and that such manifestations should therefore be reduced to a minimum by a more complete [[training]] [[analysis]].
On the other hand, some [[analyst]]s from the [[Klein]]ian [[school]], beginning with Paula Heimann, argued that the [[analyst]] should be guided in his [[interpretation]]s by his own [[countertransference]] reactions, taking his own feelings as an indicator of the [[patient]]'s state of mind.
Whereas the former group regarded [[countertransference]] as an obstacle to [[analysis]], the latter group regarded it as a useful tool.
In the 1950s, [[[[Lacan]]]] describes [[countertransference]] as a [[resistance]], an obstacle which hinders the [[progress]] of [[psychoanalytic]] [[treatment]].
[[Countertransference]] is a [[resistance]] of the [[analyst]].
Thus [[Lacan]] defines [[countertransference]] as 'the sum of the prejudices, [[passion]]s, perplexities, and even the insufficient information of the [[analyst]] at a certain moment of the [[dialectic]]al process' of the [[Lacantreatment]].<ref>{{Ec}} p.225</ref> [[Lacan]] refers to two of [[Freud]]'s case studies to illustrate what he means.
In 1951, he refers to the [[Dora]] case, and argues that [[Freud]]'s [[countertransference]] was rooted in his [[belief]] that [[heterosexuality]] is [[natural]] rather than [[normative]], and in his [[identification]] with Herr K.
In 1957 [[Lacan]] presents a similar [[analysis]] of Freud's treatment of the young homosexual woman <ref>Freud, 1920a</ref>.
He argues that when [[Freud]] [[interpreted]] the [[woman]]'s [[dream]] as expressing a wish to deceive him, he was focusing on the [[imaginary]] dimension of the [[woman]]'s [[transference]] rather than on the [[symbolic]] dimension.<ref>{{S4}} p.135</ref>. That is, [[Freud]] interpreted the dream as something directed at him personally, rather than as something directed at the [[Other]]. [[Lacan]] argues that [[Freud ]] did this because he found the [[woman ]] attractive and because he identified with the [[woman]]'s [[father ]].<ref>{{S4}} p.106-9</ref>. Once again, [[Freud]]'s [[countertransference]] brought the [[treatment]] to a premature end, though this time it was [[Freud]] who decided to terminate it.
The preceding examples might seem to suggest that [[Lacan]] aligns himself with those [[analyst]]s who argue that the training [[analysis]] should give the [[analyst]] the capacity to transcend all affective reactions to the [[patient]].
However, [[Lacan]] absolutely rejects this point of view, which he dismisses as a 'stoical ideal' <ref>{{S8}} p.219</ref>.
The training [[analysis]] does not put the [[analyst]] beyond passion, and to believe that it does would be to believe that all the passions stem from the [[unconscious]], an idea which [[Lacan]] rejects. If anything, the better analysed the [[analyst]] is, the more likely he is to be frankly in love with, or be quite repulsed by, the [[analysand]] .<ref>{{S8}} p.220</ref>.
If, then, the [[analyst]] does not act on the basis of these feelings, it is not because his training [[analysis]] has drained away his passions, but because it has given him a desire which is even stronger than those passions, a desire which [[Lacan]] calls the [[desire of the [[analyst]]]].<ref>{{S8}} p.220-1</ref>
Hence [[Lacan]] does not entirely reject Paula Heimann's position. He accepts that [[analyst]]s have feelings towards their [[patient]]s, and that sometimes the [[analyst]] can direct the treatment better by reflecting on these feelings. For example, if Freud had reflected a bit more on his feelings towards the young homosexual woman, he might have avoided interpreting her dream as a message addressed directly to him <ref>{{S4}} p.108</ref>. No one has ever said that the [[analyst]] should never have feelings towards his [[patient]]. But he must know not only not to give into them, to keep them in their place, but also how to make adequate use of them in his technique. <ref>{{Sl}} p.32</ref>
If [[countertransference]]is condemned by [[Lacan]], then, it is because he defines it not in terms of affects felt by the [[analyst]], but as the [[analyst]]'s failure to use those affects appropriately.
In the 1960s [[Lacan]] becomes very critical of the term countertransference.
He argues that it connotes a symmetrical relationship between the [[analyst]] and the [[analysand]], whereas the transference is anything but a symmetrical relationship.
When speaking of the [[analyst]]'s position it is both misleading and unnecessary to use the term countertransference; it is sufficient to speak of the different ways in which the [[analyst]] and [[analysand]] are implicated in the transference <ref>{{S8}} p.233</ref>. '"The transference is a phenomenon in which subject and psycho-analyst are both included. To divide it in terms of transference and counter-transference . . . is never more than a way of avoiding the essence of the matter' ."<ref>{{Sll}} p.231</ref>.
==def==
Countertransference is a term in psychotherapy, denoting a condition where the therapist, as a result of the therapy sessions, begins to transfer the therapist's own repressed feelings to the [[patient]].
It is also defined as the entire body of feelings that the therapist has toward the [[patient]].
Countertransference is defined in oppositon to transference, where a person in therapy begins to transfer feelings <ref>whether positive or negative</ref> to the therapist.
For example, the person in therapy may begin to look at the therapist as if the therapist were the [[patient]]'s mother, transferring their feelings for the real mother to the therapist.
This is considered a positive sign in psychoanalytic therapy, showing that the [[patient]] is making progress.
In On Becoming a Counselor, Eugene Kennedy states that [[countertransference]]has the potential to be present in any counseling relationship.
He states that it is often one of the biggest challenges for a new counselor to overcome, and while there is no way to totally overcome the problem of counter-transference <ref>since as Humans we all form opinions of others</ref> learning to not let [[countertransference]]affect a counseling relationship is key.
The mantra "only connect" is often associated with this effect.
==See Also==
* [[Transference]]
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Psychotherapy]]
[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
[[Category:Terms]]
