ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the importance of recognizing therapists' and clients' intersectional identities and the centrality they can have in the therapeutic encounter. The coloniality of power is the substructure that informs our understanding of intersectionality. Some theoretical perspectives assert that these thoughts and feelings are the result of unresolved issues the therapist holds. Others contend that the client unconsciously projects certain thoughts and feelings onto the therapist as a product of the transference and the therapist identifies with them and acts on them. Either approach to countertransference lends itself to the gathering of clinical material that can serve as a function for diagnosis or basis for interpretation. The unconscious communication between client and therapist is central to the therapeutic alliance and may not need to be interpreted or brought to the attention of the client.
