APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. the therapist’s unconscious (and often conscious) reactions to the patient and to the patient’s transference. These thoughts and feelings are based on the therapist’s own psychological needs and conflicts and may be unexpressed or revealed through conscious responses to patient behavior. The term was originally used to describe this process in psychoanalysis but has since become part of the common lexicon in other forms of psychodynamic psychotherapy and in other therapies. In classical psychoanalysis, countertransference was viewed as a hindrance to the analyst’s understanding of the patient, but to modern analysts and therapists, it may serve as a source of insight into the patient’s effect on other people. In either case, the analyst or therapist must be aware of, and analyze, countertransference so that it can be used productively within the therapeutic process. See also control analysis.