The Resident’s Countertransference: Approaching an Avoided Topic
Abstract
The resident’s countertransference to his/her patient may offer essential information about certain denied processes within that patient. It may also signal the existence of countertherapeutic scotomas within the resident. This paper offers a clinically based approach for directly identifying, exploring, and utilizing the information emerging from the resident’s countertransference. This approach focusses on the “only or never” phenomenon, the parallel process, and introspective curiosity as modes of identifying the existence of countertransference responses. It highlights the importance of confrontation and clarification to explore the meaning of these responses in the context of that particular resident with his/her particular patient.
Access content
To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.- Personal login
- Institutional Login
- Sign in via OpenAthens
- Register for access
-
Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability.
Not a subscriber?
PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.
Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).