ABSTRACT

The therapist’s countertransference can inform therapy, as what is being experienced will most likely be on the client’s map and contained within the reformulation letter. Therapy can get stuck for a number of reasons. It may be that the client has particular reciprocal role procedures (RRPs), usually involving a snag, in which there may be great fear of change and/or the results of any potential change are unwittingly undone through self-sabotage. Therapists, like anyone, are vulnerable to being hurt in relationships, and this is as true of the therapy relationship as any other relationship. Personal therapy can help therapists understand their own motivations and issues in more depth. In line with this, personal therapy is viewed as an important requirement of training in Cognitive Analytic Therapy to enable therapists to avoid enacting their own RRPs within the therapy relationship. In these situations there is often a contemptuous/judging/critical reciprocal role, which results in deep-seated feelings of unworthiness.