ABSTRACT
THE COUNTERTRANSFERENCE REVOLUTION People who have never been analysts or therapists are often surprised to find that clinical practice is a red-hot emotional activity. It is not usually the case that a patient quietly reports a problem to an analyst who then explains its origins by reference to specialized knowledge about such matters as childhood or the significance of chains of association. In particular, the analyst’s state of mind often shows signs of altered levels of consciousness and the presence of intense fantasy and aroused emotion. These may lead to disturbed bodily and behavioral functioning on the analyst’s part. These central features of the analyst’s experience, which are the regular currency of discussion among clinicians have, rightly or wrongly, been tagged as ‘countertransference’.1 They are not usually referred to by those who seek to illumine political and social process by means of a depth psychological analysis. I want to remedy this huge omission by supplying a political focus on countertransference. By so doing, I think I can give a novel and practical twist to the contribution depth psychology can make to an analysis of political and social processes.
