Transference is a concept which explains when a person directs their feelings and desires related to a particular person towards someone who isn’t that person, this might happen with every lay man in daily life when you start feeling like you have a really brotherly bond with a friend in your campus or you would always want to protect a specific friend because they give you off little sister vibes or a professor reminding you of your mother. In therapy transference occurs when the therapist reminds the client of someone who has been a nurturing influence in their life. This association can create a strong connection enabling the client to feel comfortable and engage in deep healing work.
Counter transference is when a therapist transfers feelings onto the patient. Both of these occur on an unconscious level but can be brought into conscious awareness by identifying the pattern.
This phenomenon was first described by sigmund freud, leaving us with two main types of transferance
Positive: an individual redirecting positive qualities towards the therapist
Negative : redirecting negative qualities, might see the therapist as hostile or unfriendly which can then sabotage the therapy process but both of these can be effective and useful in a therapeutic relationship and sometimes therapists consciously put in efforts for this to happen as it lets the individual connect with you at an emotional level thus allowing you to dig deeper into his past and working effectively on the therapeutic goals.
For example Transference focused therapy with the assumption that transference is normal and expected part of psychotherapy uses transference to break down destructive behavioural patterns and is used to treat bpd and other personality disorders letting the person openly react and express themselves the way they will usually do in the outer world and the therapist highlighting the behaviours with the aim of developing deeper understanding and positive alternatives to unhealthy behavioural patterns. The main goal of transference in therapy is to help heal attachment issues. Dr. Dan Siegel, an attachment researcher, says that the most important factor for a child’s secure attachment is how their parents helped them understand their childhood experiences, not just what happened during childhood. Dr. Siegel believes that it’s never too late to form a secure attachment, no matter your past. He calls this “Earned Secure Attachment,” which can be developed at any age. Understanding transference and countertransference helps clients see that their relationships can be fixed, giving them hope. Therapists can use transference to help clients build healthier relationships overall.