ABSTRACT
From the standpoint of the field of analytical transference, resistances should not be defined as facts attributed only to the patient. The definition of the term ‘resistance’ depends on a detection and a definition made by the therapist. Resistances only exist once the therapist has defined them as such. They are therefore dependent on the therapist, who alone can perceive them and define their sphere. From the scientific and methodological perspective, the concept of countertransference is a definition open to theorizing, once the analyst has become aware of certain affects and certain feelings, which, even when nebulous, may perturb his emotional life. Countertransference can shed light on certain elements of clinical psychoanalysis, if it is kept in mind during all investigations. It is an indispensable tool, especially for very perturbed or psychotic patients. Occasionally, countertransference may fail to express itself overtly as a fact or a phenomenon, and stem from an a priori methodological definition of our objectives.
