Chapter Three
Tudor and Merry (2006) define ‘transference’ as ‘the displacement of an emotion or attitude from one person to another person.
When people make assumptions about a chaplaincy visit, those assumptions are often religious stereotypes. They can be based on previous religious experiences, how the chaplain looks, how chaplaincy members talk, or the jargon used.
When transference influences the encounter with a person, we may experience negativity, affecting our ability to form a relationship with them.
Exercise: Transference
Objective: to minimize stereotypical thinking through a combination of awareness and skills. To help us feel what it is like to be stereotyped, and recognise that we are capable of forming incorrect stereotypes about others.
A. In pairs, discuss one example each of a time when you were stereotyped incorrectly because of representing chaplaincy, religion or church. How did this become apparent?
B. Express how this made you feel?
C. Think of an example, each, of when you stereotyped others incorrectly.
D. How have you experienced the idea of STAYING in an encounter that has led to a positive encounter?
Plenary: as a whole group, if possible and appropriate share some of the instances of transference that came up in the pairs. Discuss how we can support each other as a team to guard against harmful aspects of transference.
Background learning
Definition
Tudor and Merry “In psychoanalysis and other forms of psychodynamic therapy, transference most often refers to the displacement of feelings towards parents or siblings, etc., onto the therapist. In these cases, transference can be either positive or negative depending on whether the client … develops positive or negative attitudes towards the therapist … A key feature of these ‘transferences’ is that they are largely unconscious. ‘Countertransference’, meanwhile, is used to refer to transference that happens in the opposite direction: ‘the … therapist’s unconscious reactions to the … client’ (Tudor and Merry, 2006: 34).
A chaplain or a therapist may also experience transference towards the patient and the patient (or staff) may respond with countertransference.
Origins
The concept of transference was first described by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in Studies of Hysteria published in 1895. The book describes the treatment of a 'patient' known as 'Anna O.' In the book, Freud described the process of transference as; 'transferring onto the figure of the physician the distressing ideas that arise from the content of the analysis'.
Why Transference and Countertransference Matter in Counselling
By transferring, you or the client brings the baggage of an old relationship into the new relationship, rather than remaining objective and seeing the other person for who they really are. Because it is an unconscious process, it can be hard to arrest this from happening, and then can lead to countertransference, with one person reacting to the way the other is acting towards them. This is damaging to the therapeutic relationship, and so to the client’s journey. Particular care must be taken with eroticised transference.
How to Help Avoid Transference and Countertransference
Ways to identify and deal with transference and countertransference include being aware of danger signs in clients, monitoring self, and taking relevant material to supervision. Danger signs include the patient (or client) being very familiar towards you, or you feeling parental towards your client. It is helpful to develop your self-awareness so that you are more likely to notice and deal with transference, and to avoid responding with countertransference. If you do feel transference is taking place from your client, ask them: ‘Do I remind you of anybody?’ It is important to take any issues of possible transference to your own supervisor in a later supervision session. This support can enable you to:
better understand the therapist–client or chaplain-patient relationship
be more effective in working with the patient’s process
anticipate potential traps and potholes
improve boundary maintenance
Example: After visiting a patient several times over a prolonged stay in hospital Susan, expressed that I reminded her of her brother and that she felt that she could tell me anything. On each encounter that followed she became more familiar with me (the chaplain) on one occasion greeting me with ‘hello chuck.’ As she neared her discharge from hospital, Susan expressed an interest in joining the chaplaincy team as a volunteer. The chaplain’s attempts to distance myself from Susan were interpreted as rejection and she expressed painful rejection that she had felt from a sibling in her childhood. Referring to a similar example Bond expressed this as “intense, intimate and longer lasting. This is the kind of situation where powerful transferences and countertransferences are likely to arise, whether or not the counsellor is using a psychodynamic model.” Bond T (2000) Standards and Ethics for Counselling in Action
