ABSTRACT
In 1910, Anna Freud first wrote of countertransference: an emotional response that arises in the analyst as a result of the patient's influence on his unconscious. This chapter discusses the concept as a psychological phenomenon that is experienced by the therapist or by anyone who works in a therapeutic setting. It provides general example in psychoanalytic practice then shows more clearly how specific complexes in an individual therapist can give rise to a countertransference response. The concept of countertransference has been developed with the "widening scope of analysis". Many more disturbed patients are treated in analysis than had been considered appropriate. The traditional psychiatric approach has concentrated on phenomena observed in the patient. The training in psychiatry has improved from seeing the psychiatric interview as a scientific examination to an increased awareness of the importance of the attitude of the interviewer. A persistent theme in the psychoanalytic literature is that countertransference phenomena are essential concomitants of psychoanalytic treatment.
