Meaning & use
countertransference
A therapist's emotional reaction to a client, shaped by the therapist's own unresolved feelings.
See it in a sentence
The supervisor helped the trainee recognize countertransference before it affected the therapy sessions.
Feeling unusually protective of a client can be a sign of countertransference.
A note on using this word
Countertransference is a psychoanalytic term describing the therapist's reaction, as distinct from transference, which describes the client's feelings toward the therapist.
Words with a similar meaning
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Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
transference
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