COUNTERTRANSFERENCE and the GESTALT APPROACH *

GestaltInternationalStudyCenter

Cape Cod Training Program

COUNTERTRANSFERENCE and the GESTALT APPROACH *

Introduction:

We are never alone. We do not exist in a vacuum. Not only are we surrounded by and part of a “field” but we are always co-existing: not only with the present and the future, but also with the past. Countertransference and transference involve the past. By the past we mean not just the obvious, the should and should nots, the rules and the beliefs that we learned from our parents, but the more intangibles, the unawares values, assumptions, and patterns that exist deep within us — and not just about people — but about systemic interactions between dyads, families, groups, religions, social classes, sexes, cultures, etc. How these “patterns of the past” effect the therapeutic process is what countertransference is about.

Definition

Both transference and countertransference involve the projection of the past into the present ongoing relationship. In traditional psychoanalytic treatment the focus has been on the analysis of the transference. Countertransference, by contrast, has been historically considered largely a matter for the private consideration of the analyst.

Originally, countertransference was considered a hindrance to the therapeutic work that had to be overcome by the analyst, usually via supervision. As psychoanalysis became more interpersonally oriented, it became a valuable source of information about the psychodynamics of the patient as well as the interpersonal dynamics between the analyst and the patient. However, the study of and meaning making of countertransference was still left largely to the analyst. Only recently has it become a topic of conversation between therapist and patient within the context of the therapeutic work.

The term countertransference has been defined in many ways. For example, it has been used to mean:

Residues in the analyst’s personality of early experience that causes blocks in his or her work with a patient.

Ex: My father divorced my mother when I was a young child. When I work with men that remind me of my father I find myself filled with a mixture of longing and resentment.

The aspects of the therapist’s experience that are responsive and complimentary to the patient’s psychopathology.

Ex: I have an “anti-authoritarian streak..” So when my patient talks of ripping off the system for his own gain I find myself silently cheering him on and ignoring the moral, ethical and possibly sociopathic aspects of his action.

The entirety of the therapist’s experience and personality.

Ex: Who I am determines what I see and focus on. In essence I am always helping to co-create the therapeutic hour. I am always implicitly or explicitly helping to determine the content and process of the therapeutic hour.

Any aspect of the therapist’s experience or personality that the patient brings up for consideration.

Ex: This definition is a more “old fashioned” one. It implies that I am not being a blank screen if the patient is really noticing something about me — the way I dress, for example.

Unlike psychoanalysis, the Gestalt therapist does not attempt to create a “blank screen” to invoke or heighten transference, or to minimize countertransference, but like the modern process oriented analyst views transference and countertransference as “givens” that will be evoked in all situations.

In Gestalt therapy, we define countertransference as a primary contributor to “a-contextual,” fixed, or pre-set ways of organizing the world of a therapist. When these “systems of projections” exist outside of the therapist’s awareness and the therapeutic themes and foci emerge, not just from the needs of the patient but out of the unaware history and needs of the therapist. If these a-contextual organizations and distortions are out of awareness, the therapist will have diminished presence and capacity to respond to the client’s needs, wishes and wants.

Ex: If I am unconsciously frightened by interpersonal anger, than the possibilities for my client expressing his legitimate (or illegitimate) anger towards me and moving towards an increased awareness of the meaning of it, or of our relationship, etc., is greatly diminished.

History of Transference – Countertransference

In The Psychopathy of Everyday Life, Freud remarked that “a young girl…aroused a feeling of pleasure in me” which he had long thought was extinct. By an “apparently clumsy movement,” he continues, “I suddenly found myself standing directly behind her, and throwing my arms around her from behind; for a moment my hands met in front of her waist (in front of her lap, in front of her genitals.)” 1901, p. 176.

At the beginning of psychoanalysis, not only Freud but Breuer and Jung committed boundary violations with patents, and that terrified Freud. How disturbing this was can be guessed from Freud’s remarks to Jung that a paper on countertransference seemed to be “sorely needed” adding “of course we could not publish it, we should have to circulate copies among ourselves.”

Therefore, at the beginning, countertransference was considered negative and it was considered absolutely mandatory for the therapist to “surmount countertransference” completely. Yet, paradoxically, the goal of treatment was first the heightening of, and ultimately the overcoming of transference. Furthermore, transference was viewed as the basic ingredient which motivated the patient. It is ironic that Freud did not see the equal richness in countertransference, and chose to eliminate it from the therapeutic process. He was unable to see that there is a hidden wisdom in countertransference also. The elimination of it outside of treatment deprived the therapy of rich possibilities.

In Gestalt therapy, a transference-countertransference is viewed as always present in the interactions between individuals in the present moment. We hope to bring these fixed gestalts into awareness and if appropriate, make it the subject of dialogue.

Starting with Ferenzzi’s focus on the interactive dimensions of the relationships (and the understanding of the therapist’s feelings as a tool for understanding the analytic procedure) we began to look at the interaction between transference and countertransference. The result is our modern view that countertransference as well as transference are neither good nor bad but are consistently being evoked in the therapeutic hour.

Another contributor was Bernice Kris in the 1950’s who believed that every hour had its reality and a unique structure; a reality all its own and that countertransference and transference were normal.

Relevance in working with individuals, couples and families.

Countertransference consists of:

Introjects: as indicated above, we are never alone in the moment. Almost always we hear the voices of primary figures in our lives: parents, brothers, sisters, important teachers, friends.

Ex: A man reminds you of your father. You grew up believing that one should always respect your elders. This a-contextual pattern (introject) might in turn cause him to respond to you as his son.

Sensory experience, sensations, smell, sounds, sight. Not just the content, but “the sound of her voice reminds me of, the smell of the perfume…”

Ex: The color or your patient’s hair reminds you of your first love. You find yourselfgazing lovingly at her — feeling soft and tender towards her. She in return might feelterribly confused as to why she is so special for no apparent reason.

Energy — finding oneself being too much or too little interested in a client.

Ex: You find yourself bored by a client yet realize that this individual is inherently no more boring or interesting than anyone else you see.

Patterns between you and the client.

Ex: You find yourself in a conversation with a client that reminds you of one that your mother and you have had. You notice that you feel extra kindly towards her. You notice that she responds to your extra kindness in a very specific way.

When working with couples and families we not only pay attention to countertransference with individuals but with the system, i.e. the couple and family.

Ex: You come from a quiet family and you and your significant other are a quiet couple. You don’t spill your feelings and you love the peace and quiet of your idyllic marriage. The couple you are seeing is yelling at each other. You ask them to lower their voices (Why? How does that help their process?) You try to fix them rather than raise their awareness.

Countertransference not only deals with tangibles like our personal history, mannerisms, and speech patterns, but more often deeply imbedded and less tangible variables such as values, and interactional processes like nurturance, influence, and vulnerability.

1. Values

Ex: You come from a family which is entrenched in the value of higher education. A college age secretary and her husband start therapy with you. You find yourself focusing on her and preaching to her that she can advance herself by going to college (while ignoring her husband). Is this good for her? Maybe yes - maybe no. What about him? Does your focus have anything to do with your family’s values concerning education, male – female relationships, as to who you address in the family system, etc?

Interactional Process: when working with couples and families we are most concerned with countertransference with regards to transactional processes – what goes on between the individuals in the intimate system. We deal primarily with three main areas:

Support and nurturance. How was support expressed in your family or in your parents’ relationship? Did individuals touch, encourage, feed each other? Was the support function fluid or rigid, variable or assigned?

Ex: In your family or origin women were the ones who expressed soft emotions. What will be stirred in you when you see a man cry?

Power and influence. How was the decision made to go for vacation, go to a movie, buy a stereo, a car? Also, who decided? Who participated? Was it on the basis of age, gender, competence and knowledge?

Ex: In your family your mother decided on and arranged all vacations. Does it seem odd to you when you see a family where the mother just goes with whatever is decided for her?

Vulnerability. How close do people get to each other — and in what ways? How open and closed was your family, your parents? How did the family express love, fight, make up? Was there a characterological style to this? Did it reside in one individual? Could individuals cry, lean on one another?

Ex: If your parents touched each other easily and often, how are you when you see a couple or family that rarely touch each other?

Hints regarding the existence of countertransference.

Besides an interest or lack of interest towards one part of the couple, also notice your reactions to the content. Boredom, or the unawares withdrawal of energy is often a sign.

Self-disclosure — if you find yourself self-disclosing content about yourself. Self disclosure of self process is also suspect.

Telling of historical stories of self. At their best they are teaching tales that help support the contact, or more usually the chewing over of the experience. At their worst they draw energy away from the couple towards the therapist, and might be the therapist’s unawares attempt to finish a situation.

Giving of advice — it can be positive. Often we are the experts and we know more than the client system. However, it might instead be covering up our difficulty in living with uncertainty, a sense of inadequacy in the moment, or countertransferential — suggesting the client finish a situation that is unfinished for us.

——————————————

* Melnick, J. (2003) British Gestalt Journal, 12 (1), 40-48