On Transference and Psycho-analysis

One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood". Another definition is "the redirection of feelings and desires and especially of those unconsciously retained from childhood toward a new object". Transference, as defines by our book “Theories of Personality”, is the “strong, undeserved feelings that the patient develops toward the analyst during the course of treatment. These feelings may be either sexual or hostile, but they stem from the patient’s earlier experiences with the parents”. Meaning patients treat the analyst the same way they had treated their parents in the past. Transference can be positive or negative or counter. Positive transference is the projection of positive, good feelings from the patient to the analyst. According to Freud as long as there was positive transference in a therapy session, transference does not interfere with the healing process. Positive transference lets the patient relive childhood experiences in a non-threatening environment. Talking about these experiences gets the patient to realize what the problem is and they are able to control it or eventually cure themselves. Negative transference is the projection of negative feelings and thoughts from the patient to the analyst. Negative transference means that the patient is resisting the treatment. They will have to get over the fact that they are they and that they need help. “Resistance can be a positive sign because it indicates that therapy has advanced beyond superficial material”. Counter transference is projection of feelings from the analyst to the patient, whether positive or negative. Carl Jung was the first to see and understand counter transference. Counter transference can be a help or a hindrance to a session depending on whether it leads to a better therapist-patient relationship. Sigmund Freud was the first person to realize that transference is necessary for a complete and successful therapy session. One of the most important concepts associated with the psycho dynamic tradition is the idea of transference. Transference is a simple appearing idea that has to do with the way people understand one another and form relationships with one another. As its name suggests, it involves the idea of transferring something from one place to another. What is being transferred in this case is an understanding of a person. Where it is being transferred to is onto another person. When transference is occurring, basically what is happening is that we are trying to understand someone (usually someone we don't know very well) by making an assumption that they are similar to someone else, and will thus feel and behave in ways that are similar to how that other person would feel and behave. Transference is a very fundamental process that human beings are constantly doing for better and for worse. Like most fundamental things we can't help but do, such as being hungry, communicating via body language even when we do not speak, or finding one's self sexually attracted or repulsed to another, it is not at all dangerous in moderation, but can create problems when done to excess. More to the point, the act of transference, like these other fundamental human processes, reveals and illuminates our motives and our thoughts; thoughts and motives that would otherwise remain hidden away from others and often even from ourselves (especially from ourselves Freud would say). Our acts of transference provide an information rich window into what we are desiring and what we wish to avoid. What we read into other people reveals our secret prejudices and our unfulfilled wishes. What is particularly wonderful about transference information is that it reveals or illuminates motives that people are often themselves unaware of having, or loath to fess up to. Part of Freud's genius was to recognize not only that transference was something that occurred on a regular basis, but also to realize that the information about personal motives that a person's transference activity revealed about him or her could be used as a therapeutic tool to promote self-understanding and healing.