Evolution in the Clinical Use of Counter-Transference

Summary:

The author traces the development of the concept of countertransference in psychotherapeutic theory technique and attempts to highlight the theoretical motivations, beginning from Freud and continuing with the schools of thought that came after him, underlying the modifications and extensions suggested to “correct” the very nature of the conceptualization of countertransference. The second part of the article reviews the points of view of two contemporary authors, Jacobs and Renik, who in their own distinctive ways and with different stresses, have actively put forward innovative points of view for the understanding of this concept. An assessment on Renik’s positions brings the author to his own considerations on the intersubjective point of view, which has strongly asserted itself in recent years.