ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focused on the development of a transtheoretical definition of countertransference by unifying the commonalities observed from the interpretation of various theoretical writings dealing with the phenomenon. The author defined countertransference as a spectrum of possible emotional responses on the part of the analyst, resulting from the psychic interaction between the conscious and unconscious processes of the patient and analyst. As the author further explored the phenomenon of countertransference, many other points of inquiry emerged that exerted their own significance and required further exploration. Additional aspects of countertransference explored and discussed included countertransference dreams and somatic countertransference. The author also discussed the transcendent function, or the analytic third, that serves as a platform or bridge for psychic interactions between the patient and analyst. Through the exploration and interpretation of countertransference writings, the author developed additional psychological concepts such as reflective countertransference and persecutory countertransference and provided a thorough explanation of deciphering the difference between positive and pathological forms of countertransference and how to address them. The author highlighted the analysis of the analyst to address the analyst’s susceptibility to countertransference; however, this is not necessarily related to the analyst’s neurosis alone but also to the extensiveness of the analyst’s unconsciousness, an unconscious realm co-created in conjunction with the patient. The author then reviewed and discussed the effects of distancing. Although distinguishing between pathological and nonpathological countertransference responses is difficult, the analyst needs to accept their own countertransference response while maintaining distance from the patient’s experience. The author identified both distance and time as critical elements of countertransference and encouraged identification and separation for the analyst. This leads to a cycle where the analysts learn about themselves through the psychic interactions which in turn helps them become more empathetic toward their patients while improving the quality of treatment.
