ABSTRACT
So many developments in the study of transference and countertransference have occurred in the last half-century that it is sometimes forgotten how much we owe to Freud, I propose to consider the papers written between 1911 and 1915 and often referred to collectively as "The Technique Papers". I do not mean to go over them in detail—I would rather people read them time and again for themselves; they invariably come across as fresh, lively, and packed with helpful advice; and his formulations are equally valuable for the beginner and the experienced practitioner. I mean only to view them for what they have to tell us about the transference, its theory and use; the use of the countertransference was not yet developed, and its detailed study really post-dates Freud by many years. It is of course referred to by implication several times, but it was not really studied as a subject in its own right until Paula Heimann focused directly on it in a now-famous paper in 1950. While we are refreshing our memories of the Technique papers, I will add some 58thoughts of my own on subsequent developments and personal experience.
