ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the authors focus on the negative dynamics occurring between child and the parent, why these dynamics happen, why they are important to pay attention to, and how the therapists can shift them. Within the counseling and therapy world, the reactions and behaviors displayed by an individual which reflect something from their past are referred to as 'transference'. Then the reaction experienced by the therapist to the individual's reactions and behaviors is referred to as 'countertransference'. Recognizing countertransference and deciding how to respond to countertransference can be very challenging. If the child/youth professional either knowingly or unknowingly counters the parent's experience rather than attuning with it, that is an error, that would be a negative countertransference. The authors look at how parents play out the patterns they learned, attachment patterns and multitudinous other behavior patterns.