ABSTRACT
There have probably been more words written on the subject of transference and countertransference from a wide variety of different perspectives than on any other subject within the domain of depth psychology. This is as true among psychoanalysts as it is for analytical psychologists. Today it remains as “hot” a topic for debate and dispute as it was between Jung and Freud almost a century ago. Our definitions of the concepts and the focus of these debates have evolved and changed over time. We now have a wealth of clinical experience and theoretical evidence built up during these years. We know a good deal more about how to define transference and countertransference, the dynamics of transference projections from the patient and their effect on the analyst, and how technically to approach and work with transferences in the analytic relationship.
