Main description:

While transference has been fully described in the literature, countertransference has been viewed as its ugly sibling, and hence there are still not as many reflective accounts or guidance for trainees about how to handle difficult emotions, such as shame and envy and conflict in the consulting room. As a counterpoint, this book provides an integrative guide for therapists on the concept of countertransference, and takes a critical stance on the phenomenon, and theorising, about the "so-called" countertransference, viewing it as a framework to explore the transformative potential in managing strong emotions and difficult transactions.

With an explicit focus on teaching, this book informs therapeutic practice by mixing theories and case studies from the authors' own clinical and teaching experiences, which involves the reader in case studies, reflection and action points. Countertransference is explored in a wide range of clinical settings, including in reflective practice and in research in the field of therapy, as well as in art therapy and in the school setting. It also considers countertransference in dream interpretation, in the supervision and teaching environment and in work with groups and organisations.

Introduction to Countertransference in Therapeutic Practice offers psychotherapists and counsellors, both practicing and in training, a comprehensive overview of this important concept, from its roots in Freud's work to its place today in a global, transcultural society.

Contents:

Notes on Contributors

Foreword

ANDREW SAMUELS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PAOLA VALERIO

Part I

Countertransference in work with individuals

Chapter 1: Between bodies: Working in the liminal zone with traumatised clients

NICOLA DIAMOND AND PAOLA VALERIO

Chapter 2: A therapist goes back to school: Therapeutic experience with three black boys at risk of exclusion

ONEL BROOKS

Chapter 3: A case of missing identity: Working with disassociation and 'multiple selves' in the countertransference

MARIO MARRONE AND NICOLA DIAMOND

Chapter 4: Countertransference, art psychotherapy and the prediscursive abject

JANEK DUBOWSKI

Chapter 5: CBT Versus the unconscious: Ignore countertransference at your peril

ANGELA DEVON

Part II

Countertransference in the wider context in supervision, teaching, group therapy and in organisational work

Chapter 6: "Impossible to do, but possible to say": Using countertransference in the trainer-trainee relationship

RUSSEL AYLING, EGLE MEISTAITE AND PAOLA VALERIO

Chapter 7: 'Just don't get involved': Countertransference and the group - Engaging with the projective processes in groups

CYNTHIA ROGERS

Chapter 8: Can organizations use countertransference to reflect?

SUZANNE WEEKS

Part III

Countertransference in reflective practice, research and in case studies co-written with patients in treatment

Chapter 9: Countertransference in reflective practice - An integrative approach to monitor self-awareness in clinical practice

SOFIE BAGER-CHARLESON

Chapter 10: Countertransference in Research: An intersubjective reflexive approach

SOFIE BAGER CHARLESON

Chapter 11: 'The Recovered Therapist': Working with body image disturbance and eating disorders - Researching the countertransference

LINDA VERBEEK

Chapter 12: Countertransference and the chance to dream

PAOLA VALERIO

Chapter 13: The so-called 'countertransference' and the mystery of the therapeutic encounter

ANASTASIOS GAITANIDIS

INDEX