Countertransference is a basic tenet of psychodynamic theory. Although it was initially considered an unwelcome phenomenon in psychiatry, attitudes have shifted, and many mental health professionals now consider it to be a useful therapeutic tool. In this article, the author discusses countertransference as defined by the International Psychoanalytical Association's Inter-Regional Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (IRED) and examines its clinical impact by using constructed vignettes of psychodynamic psychotherapies to illustrate theoretical points. As IRED delineates, countertransferences may exist at the conscious or unconscious level. In addition, the author suggests that countertransference may also exist at the preconscious level. Clinicians' examination of all levels of countertransference has the potential to be revelatory and facilitate therapeutic action, whereas unexamined countertransference can interfere with effective treatment. For this reason, self-reflection on the part of psychiatrists is essential.
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Objective: Countertransference (CT) has been shown to interfere with therapy goals, and its management is crucial to desired treatment outcomes. As a first step, a clinician's awareness of their covert and overt CT reactions is critical to successfully managing CT. Research on CT awareness is scarce, however, mainly because of difficulties in empirically investigating and measuring this construct.
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