ABSTRACT
Transference was both one of Freud’s greatest and most controversial discoveries. In Chapter 4, I make the case for transference being a universal concept. It exists and has important effects in all psychotherapy relationships, and in fact in all human relationships. How the therapist deals with transference can often have profound effects on the process and outcomes of treatment. In this chapter, I explore why transference happens. Differing definitions of transference are given, and an integrative conception is provided. Rules-of-thumb and guidelines for identifying transference are offered. A key feature of the chapter is an exploration of how transference may be seen and dealt with from differing theoretical positions. Key factors for the therapist to keep in mind are: the importance of the present when working with transference; the limited therapeutic benefit of intellectual exploration of transference; the particular importance of examining negative transference; and the centrality of how transference is operating in the patient’s life outside of therapy.
