Although the subject of countertransference has existed for around 100 years, there is still no unity about it's operationalization.
yes. How do you formulate your countertransference experience? What variables you can identify and observe? How do you verbalize it?
I think a lot of the point about countertranserential experience is that it is bodily felt and encourages shared, empathic experiencing of a client's inner world in such a way that verbalising is not always appropriate or possible. It creates an atmosphere of resonance, of communion, interfering with words can break that. Just one formulation!
Thank you Isabel for your participation. Great reply. To me everything that happens between psychotherapist and the client within their interaction is important part of psychotherapy process representing not always obvious aspects of client's way of communication. So, the therapist's countertransferential experience in this sense serve as a continuation of the clients relationship with other people outside of psychotherapy. I agree that you need to find a special moment and establish secure atmosphere to share this experience in order to enrich awareness of the client about his patterns and conflicts. In order to do that as a therapist we must be able to conceptualize and verbalize this experience.
Who our client reminds us or repressent in our personal life infuneces the outcome of therapy sometimes.
Counter-transference is the impulse within the therapist (T) to meet the T's needs through the client. Properly interpreted, it's a window in to the unconscious responses of others in the client's life. It may also point to a functional aspect of the client which at least in part could be one of the reasons they've come to therapy. If missed, the T may act on the impulse and then rationalize the impact as therapeutic. Operationalizing the concept requires measurement, something that couldn't grasp much of the meaning in this unconscious process.
Thank you for sharing your ideas, dear colleagues! It is a pleasure to look at these different points of view. Some more ideasfor possible operationalization scales for counter transference:
1. What do I feel (possible in a scale of around 20 feelings, see Faller),
2. Which is my impulse to act (operationalization: structurally concerning OPD in terms of what is my impulse to help, to avoid, to express something instead of the client..., or/and conflict orientated: What is my impulse in terms of conflict contents, OPD or DAI terms),
3. of which quality is the interaction (terms of OPD axis 2 or Positive Psychotherapy Interaction Analysis),
4. of which quality is my fantasy, the pictures i imagine.
These four areas are related to the balance model of PPT. As ideas they are partly published in Boessmann, Remmers "Wirksam behandlen" (Efficient Tratment) and "Erstinterview" (first interview). See Faller, OPD, Peseschkian also. Many greetings
I would simply add to the fruitful discussion above that "just" holding the countertransferance and metabolizing it is extremely important, according to Bion´s work.
Dear colleagues. Thank you so much for your input to the discussion.
Say it! Is it necessary?
There are things which can only be described as an experience - I think.Is it bad? Does it our emotions and actions less scientific? Sorry for saying this I understand what you mean. I a way something is possible to conceptualize... e.g somatic reactions to the patient... in a way? Or is it.
I find the discussion useful. I would add the Racker concepts of complementary and concordant contertransference. Do I feel as my patients sees me ( i.e. persecutor if he feels to be persecuted by me) or I feel in a concordant way as my patients feels (i.e. an abused child if the patient want to communicate that). ?
I think that operationalize countertransference is something eventually possible only after a clear conceptualization of it. What is countertransference? The unconscious response of the analyst to the patient? The total response of the analyst to the patient? the transference of the analyst on the patient? An analytic third?
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