Definition
Countertransference refers to the full range of therapist reactions toward the client: emotional, cognitive, somatic, and relational. The concept evolved significantly from its original formulation by Freud, who saw it as an obstacle the therapist must overcome, to contemporary views that recognize it as a source of valuable clinical information.
The contemporary perspective distinguishes two types:
Concordant countertransference: The therapist feels something similar to what the client feels. For example, sadness when the client talks about a loss. It enables empathy and attunement.
Complementary countertransference: The therapist feels what the client cannot feel or what others in the client's life feel. For example, anger when the client describes situations where they were victimized but minimizes their own rage. This can indicate a relevant relational dynamic.
When it is a tool
Countertransference is useful when the therapist:
- Recognizes it as information about the client's dynamics, not as "their own personal problem"
- Can hold it without acting it out (without responding with anger, excessive distance, or over-involvement)
- Uses it to formulate clinical hypotheses that are then explored with the client or in supervision
Example: the therapist notices they consistently feel bored in sessions with a client who describes their life in a very ordered, flat, unemotional way. That reaction may signal that the client is also emotionally disconnected, and the therapist's boredom is a response to affective flattening.
When it is an obstacle
Countertransference becomes an obstacle when:
- It is acted out without recognition (the therapist responds with distance, irritability, or over-involvement without knowing why)
- It is confused with objective information about the client without questioning the therapist's own history
- It is not worked through in supervision or personal therapy
Signs of unworked countertransference in session
- The therapist frequently checks the clock in sessions with a specific client
- A sense of urgency to "fix" what the client has, rather than listening
- Difficulty remembering the content of that client's sessions
- Intense anticipation (positive or negative) before sessions
- Comments that go beyond the therapeutic role
Related terms
References
- Racker, H. (1968). Transference and countertransference. International Universities Press.
- Hayes, J. A., Gelso, C. J., & Hummel, A. M. (2011). Managing countertransference. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 88-97.