ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author highlights the lesbian identification of the patient as the predominant stimulus to her countertransference as a lesbian-identified therapist. She deals with a discussion of the term enactment, referring to it as “unconscious, symbolic repetitions of earlier trauma.” The countertransference of the therapist seems to reach a zenith with the patient’s letter to her from college. A therapist under a strong countertransference is under the influence of the same repetition compulsion as the patient. The patient’s reality can be subjugated to the therapist’s, resulting in countertransference dominance throughout the course of treatment. In writing about her patient, Karen Martin is contradictory. One contradiction has to do with the description of the mother. Heterosexual girls experience greater increases in anxiety, conflict, shame, and self-doubt. As their sexuality comes to the fore, heterosexual adolescent girls often learn they are identified chiefly by their physical selves, reproductive capacity, and appearance.
