Booknews Strean (emeritus, Rutgers U. School of Social Work) explores countertransference reactions in psychotherapeutic work and allows colleagues to comment on his ideas in separate "discussion" sections. He argues that therapists need to confront, acknowledge, and analyze countertransference reactions. Contrary to traditional conceptions of countertransference, he contends that it can be useful to communicate countertransference reactions to patients, viewing the patient and the therapist as equals in dialogue. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This book provides an overview of theory and technique that gives the reader a detailed account of how countertransference is used in contemporary practice. It shows the usefulness of examining countertransference issues in a wide range of psychiatric settings, including pharmacotherapy, consultation-liaison settings, and forensic facilities.

The constant and polymorphous development of the field of psychoanalysis since its inception has led to the evolution of a wide variety of psychoanalytic ‘schools’. In seeking to find common ground between them, Alberto Stefana examines the history of countertransference, a concept which has developed from its origins as an apparent obstacle, to become an essential tool for analysis, and which has undergone profound changes in definition and in clinical use. In History of Countertransference, Stefana follows the development of this concept over time, exploring a very precise trend which begins with the original notion put forward by Sigmund Freud and leads to the ideas of Melanie Klein and the British object relations school. The book explores the studies of specific psychoanalytic theorists and endeavours to bring to light how the input from each one may have been influenced by previous theories, by the personal history of the analyst, and by their historical-cultural context. By shedding light on how different psychoanalytic groups work with countertransference, Stefana helps the reader to understand the divergences that exist between them. This unique study of a key psychoanalytical concept will be essential reading for psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and academics and students of psychoanalytic studies and the history of psychology.

Countertransference was believed at one time to consist of the subjective reactions of the therapist whose own unresolved conflicts had been reactivated by the patient's transference. More recently, however, it has been recast to include the totality of the therapist's attitudes, fantasies, and emotional reactions to the patient. While this important topic has received increased attention in the mental health literature in recent years, little attention has been paid to countertransference encountered in child and adolescent psychotherapy. This book focuses on countertransference in the psychotherapy of children and adolescents in detail. It offers the child and adolescent therapist an invaluable opportunity to explore countertransference in substantial depth and in a variety of clinical encounters across the wide spectrum of child and adolescent psychopathology. Perhaps most importantly, it normalizes the topic of transference in the psycho-therapy of children and adolescents and, in so doing, highlights the clinician's subjective experience as central to the process of psychotherapy.

Analytical psychology is a broad church, but in common with psychoanalysis, there are many different schools of thought and practice within the field. This volume explores hotly contested issues.

Management of Countertransference with Borderline Patients is an open and detailed discussion of the emotional reactions that clinicians experience when treating borderline patients. This book provides a systematic approach to managing countertransference that legitimizes the therapist's reactions and shows ways to use them therapeutically with the patient.

A carefully selected volume tracing the development of countertransference—the emotional reaction of an analyst to their subject In Essential Papers on Countertransference, Benjamin Wolstein has carefully gathered the classic essays which trace the development of countertransference as a psychoanalytic concept and explore the various ways in which it has been defined and used by various psychoanalytic schools. The volume includes selections from the work of Sigmund Freud, D. W. Winnicott, Clara Thompson, Harold F. Searles, and Heinrich Racker, among others. Wolstein's introduction offers a provocative perspective on the concept of countertransference and places in context the many controversies surrounding its use by analysts. Contributors: Mabel Blake Cohen, Ralph M. Crowley, Lawrence Epstein, Arthur H. Feiner, Sandor Ferenczi, Sigmund Freud, Merton M. Gill, Douglas W. Orr, Heinrich Racker, Otto Rank, Theodor Reik, Janet MacKenzie Rioch, Harold F. Searles, Leo Stone, Edward S. Tauber, Clara Thompson, Lucia E. Tower, and D. W. Winnicott.