countertransference

English

Alternative forms

  • counter-transference

Etymology

From counter- +‎ transference, a calque of German Gegenübertragung.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /kaʊntətɹansˈfəːɹəns/

Noun

countertransference (countable and uncountable, plural countertransferences)

  1. (psychotherapy) The transference of a therapist's own unconscious feelings to their patient; unconscious or instinctive emotion felt towards the patient.
    • 2005, Meg Wolitzer, The Position, Vintage, published 2012, page 94:
      ‘She had a very unusual, difficult childhood. I guess, what with her history and all, she brings out these fatherly feelings of countertransference in me.’
    • 2007, Brett Kahr, Sex and the Psyche, Penguin, published 2008, page 295:
      In my meeting with Dahlia, I found myself having a private countertransference thought which I certainly did not articulate to her.

Derived terms

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