ABSTRACT
It is the thesis of this chapter, and in fact the entire book, that countertransference as we have defined it is best seen as residing within the broader context of the therapist’s total experiential world as he or she conducts psychotherapy. This world may be variously labeled the therapist’s subjectivity, subjective experience, inner world, or experiential world. We use these terms interchangeably throughout this chapter and book. Part of this inner world includes the therapist’s internal reactions that are shaped by his or her past or present emotional conflicts and vulnerabilities, essentially our definition of countertransference, or at least the internal aspect of countertransference. But the therapist’s inner world consists of much more than countertransference. It contains all the thoughts, images, affects, and even visceral sensations that the therapist possesses at any given time. This subjectivity exists in each and every psychotherapist in the interactions with each and every patient, regardless of theoretical orientation or approach. It exists even when treatment is manualized, when it is behaviorally oriented, and when it focuses on technique rather than relationship; and it plays an important, often vital, role in all psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.
