Psychotherapy Research

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Countertransference—Introduction to a special
section

Orya Tishby

To cite this article: Orya Tishby (2022) Countertransference—Introduction to a special section,

Psychotherapy Research, 32:1, 1-2, DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2021.1879404

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Published online: 08 Feb 2021.

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Psychotherapy Research, 2022
Vol. 32, No. 1, 1–2, [Link]

INTRODUCTION

Countertransference—Introduction to a special section

ORYA TISHBY

Department of psychology and School of Social Work, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
(Received 19 June 2020; revised 30 December 2020; accepted 4 January 2021)

Clinical or methodological significance of this article: The introduction highlights the ubiquity of countertransference
and the need for further research from the perspective of different therapy model.

Countertransference (CT) is a ubiquitous phenom- based on the therapist’s past relationships, but also
enon: therapists walk into the consulting room, bring- induced by the client’s behavior (Gabbard, 2004).
ing with them their unique ways of relating to others, Support for the two-person model comes from
their vulnerabilities, emotions, sense of humor, crea- research that applies findings from mother-infant
tivity and much more. In a paper summarizing the studies to psychotherapy process (e.g., Beebe & Lach-
3rd APA task force on evidence based relationships mann, 2020). For example, the Boston Change
and responsiveness, Norcross and Lambert (2018) Process Study Group (2013) views enactments,
write: “Most practice or treatment guideline compi- which consist of transference and countertransfer-
lations depict interchangeable providers performing ence, as a product of the dyad, rather than reflecting
treatment procedures. This stands in marked contrast the level of the individual participants. Thus, thera-
to the clinician’s and the client’s experience of psy- pists will experience different feelings and thoughts
chotherapy as an intensely interpersonal and deeply which are stimulated by different clients, in different
emotional experience”. They further add: “Multiple contexts. The challenge is to use these feelings effec-
and converging sources of evidence indicate that the tively, not to ignore them or suppress them, but not
person of the psychotherapist is inextricably inter- to be immersed in them. Gabbard (2004) describes
twined with the outcome of psychotherapy” (p. 307). different ways in which therapists can use their coun-
Countertransference was first identified by Freud tertransference productively: they can contain nega-
(1910), as the therapist’s unconscious response to tive countertransference, thus demonstrating to their
the transference: “In such cases, the client represents clients that they are neither “destroyed” nor driven
for the analyst an object of the past on to whom past to retaliate by these emotions. This stance can then
feelings and wishes are projected”. It was viewed as a help clients deal with their own aggressive feelings.
hindrance to effective therapy process, since it dis- Countertransference feelings can also provide clues
rupted the clear, scientific observation of the client. about clients’ emotional states, which may serve to
This view, the “narrow view” of countertransference guide therapists’ interventions. One type of interven-
became widely accepted in psychoanalytic circles. tion is the judicious use of therapist self -disclosure
As psychoanalytic theory shifted towards a two- of the countertransference, which may deepen
person model, the conceptualization of countertrans- clients’ understanding of their interactional patterns.
ference has expanded and is currently viewed as a Although it originated in psychoanalysis, counter-
product of a joint creation, with contributions from transference is currently considered an important
both client and therapist. Countertransference is component of therapy in many therapy models.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Orya Tishby, Department of psychology and School of Social Work, Hebrew
University, Jerusalem, Israel. Email: [Link]@[Link]
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

© 2021 Society for Psychotherapy Research

2 O. Tishby

For example, Cartwright (2011) writes from the per- Nissen-Lie, Dahl and Høglend’s study investigated
spective of cognitive therapy: “Transference and whether countertransference (measured on the
countertransference can be understood using cogni- Feeling Word Checklist) was related to clients’ inter-
tive perspectives. These concepts may be helpful for personal problems, degree of personality pathology
cognitive therapists to consider during reflective prac- and motivation for psychodynamic treatment,
tice in self-supervision and in clinical supervision”. within an RCT assessing the role of transference
Kraemer (2008) advocated examining countertrans- work in psychotherapy. Clients’ level of pathology
ference in systemic family therapy, focusing on the and motivation for treatment predicted therapists’
therapist’s subjective experiences of the client or the countertransference responses differentially, when
family. As Gelso and Hayes (2007) wrote: “Thera- working actively on transference compared to not
pists of all persuasions have soft spots that can be working with transference. Colli, Gagliardini and
and are touched upon in their work” (p. 49). Salvatore examined the relationship between thera-
For many years research on countertransference pists’ use of supportive and expressive techniques,
lagged behind research on other components of the therapists’ countertransference (assessed on the
therapeutic relationship. The complexity of this Therapist Response Questionnaire) and clients’
phenomenon, and the fact that it is often out of aware- level of defensive functioning during psychotherapy
ness, posed methodological challenges. In a special sessions. Results showed that four countertransfer-
issue on countertransference in the Journal of Clinical ence responses (parental; positive; criticized; overin-
Psychology/In Session, Kiesler (2001) wrote: volved) completely mediated the relationship
between clients’ level of defensive functioning and
the multiple terms used to describe CT events therapists’ use of supportive-expressive intervention.
provide rich conceptual diversity, but also result in All four papers demonstrate the complex inter-
theoretical isolation and clinical compartmentaliza- relations between countertransference, client vari-
tion. Our study and understanding of countertrans-
ference would benefit remarkably if we could agree ables and therapists’ interventions. I hope that this
on empirical-therapist features that any counter- special section will stimulate further research on
transference conceptualization must target. countertransference in relation to process and
(p. 1053) outcome in different therapy modalities.

His proposal for such a common base was to define

set of agreed upon therapist behaviors, such as
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