ABSTRACT
This chapter recommends the use of shame-free and direct language and abiding with the following guidelines: (1) the patient must have already surmised that the analyst returns their erotic feelings; (2) the patient must have become increasingly able to detect their impact upon others and therefore be in lesser need for verbal confirmations from them; (3) the analyst’s disclosure must retain an ‘as-if’ quality; (4) the interchange can underscore mutuality in the analytic experience but must not sacrifice asymmetry that is inherent in analytic work; (5) the disclosure of erotic countertransference must not be done to overcome a therapeutic impasse; and (6) this intervention must be discussed with a supervisor, a colleague, a consultant, or a peer-group.
