Countertransference

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Countertransference refers to responses and reactions a therapist has towards their clients when a client is facing issues that may be unresolved in the counselor’s’ past, for example, child abuse (Rosenberg & Hayes, 2002). Eric Rosenberg and Jeffrey Hayes came up with a study to find out how countertransference originates, its consequences and how to manage them. The study lasted for 18 weeks with 13 videotaped sessions and one not taped totaling to 14 sessions. Three individuals close to the therapist were interviewed to find out the unknown resolved conflicts within the therapist. Six raters were deployed in the study to rate each session.
It is assumed that therapists tend to avoid too much involvement threatening client material hence may force the client to deal with them too early when they still are not ready however this was not the case according to the study carried out. The results show minimum avoidance behavior ported by the therapists towards her unresolved issues when they were in session. If a session had personally threatening issues, the therapist kept it light and smooth but the more the client proceeded to talk about this issues that the therapist relates threateningly, the more the therapist felt close and trustworthy to the client. From the case study, it is then concluded that countertransference has less effect on the working alliance between the therapist and the client (Rosenberg & Hayes, 2002).
Countertransference management has a role to play in enhancing session depths as the therapist can know how to handle situations where the client touches on their unresolved issues.

Therapists’ meditation, self-differentiation, and mindfulness are some of the values that help in Countertransference management.
The study carried out by Hayes and Rosenberg has some limitations like the sample size being too small. One client and therapist were used in the study, and this is not adequate to conclude from as one of the parties may be biased. Even those close friends of the therapists selected to identify her unresolved issues may be biased.
Reference
Rosenberger, E. W., & Hayes, J. A. (2002). Origins, consequences, and management of countertransference: A case study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49(2), 221-232.